Refinery Town Hall Set for Monday; Applications Open for District 3 Council Position

Learn more about recent incidents at Martinez Refining Co. during Zoom meeting scheduled to include city, county and refinery officials

Hi everyone. Just wanted to dash off a quick post here to make sure residents are aware of some important news and upcoming events.

First, a virtual town hall meeting will be held over Zoom on Monday starting at 6 p.m. to discuss the recent incidents related to the Martinez Refining Co. (owned by PBF Energy). The town hall is scheduled to include Mayor Brianne Zorn, county Supervisor Federal Glover, representatives from Contra Costa County health and public safety agencies and the refinery itself. Hopefully, this will be an opportunity to finally hear something substantive from the refinery about the circumstances that led to the recent flaring incidents and the hazardous materials release on Thanksgiving night that blanketed neighboring areas with a “metal-laden dust” and which the refinery failed to immediately notify the public and county health officials about.

Contra Costa Health announced last week that it is recommending an independent investigation of the dust release. It also stated that it has determined that the Nov. 24-25 incident constituted a “Major Chemical Accident or Release (MCAR), a legal designation that allows CCH to thoroughly investigate the cause of the incident through an independent investigation, perform follow-up work to fill safety gaps, and publicly report its activities through a transparent process.”

Contra Costa Health went on to say in the announcement: “In a Dec. 14 letter to MRC, CCH also noted the refinery violated state law and local policy when it failed to report the airborne release of more than 20 tons of ‘spent catalyst,’ a substance that laboratory testing later showed to contain elevated levels of heavy metals.

“CCH is investigating the incident for potential enforcement action, including a case referral to the Contra Costa District Attorney's Office.”

Meanwhile, the refinery’s 72-hour report from the large flaring event on the evening of Dec. 9 that sent towering flames into the sky visible for miles around can be found here. MRC reported that “equipment failure resulted in routing refinery gasses to the facility’s LOP flare, as designed and permitted under the facility’s Title V operating permit.” It estimated that approximately 222.3 pounds of sulfur dioxide was generated from the incident. More information on health impacts from sulfur dioxide exposure at various thresholds can be found in this document from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Here are the details of Monday’s Zoom meeting, and more info is available through the city newsletter post here:

What: Town Hall about Recent Martinez Refinery Events

• When: Monday, December 19, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. 

• Where: Zoom

  • https://cityofmartinez-org.zoom.us/j/97994551086

  • One tap mobile: US: +16694449171,,97994551086# or +16699009128,,97994551086#

Presenters:

• City of Martinez

• Contra Costa Health

• Martinez Refining Company

• Bay Area Air Quality Management District

• Contra Costa County Fire Protection District

• Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office

City Council Vacancy

In other news, the city has officially opened the application period to apply for the District 3 council seat that was vacated by Zorn when she was sworn in as mayor. While the City Council could have called a special election to fill the vacancy (which would have cost taxpayer dollars), it has decided to fill the opening through an appointment instead. It has 60 days from Dec. 7 (when Zorn vacated the seat) to fill the opening. Eligible residents have until Wednesday, Jan. 4, at 5 p.m. to submit an application. The council will interview candidates and possibly select one to fill the seat at the Wednesday, Jan. 11 council meeting.

Who’s eligible for the seat? Well, it’s a little tricky. As the city stated in its newsletter announcement: “Since District 3 boundaries were changed in 2022 through the redistricting process, current residents of both the former District 3 and the new District 3 are eligible to apply.” Basically, if you voted in the District 3 election won by Zorn in 2020, you’re eligible to apply for this seat, as well as if you’re a registered voter living in the new district that was drawn by the independent redistricting commission following the 2020 census. The new District 3 map can be found here. The old District 3 map can be found here.

An application for the seat can be found on the city website or picked up at City Hall.

The final council meeting of the year will be held Wednesday at 7 p.m. in person and on Zoom. The meeting agenda is here.

Thanks again to everyone who has read and supported this newsletter during the 2022 election season and beyond. Wishing you all the happiest of holidays and best wishes for the New Year.