Before the Benicia Port Fire, SF Baykeeper Filed Suit Against Valero, Amports Alleging Illegal Petcoke Releases
(Photo Courtesy of SF Baykeeper)
San Francisco Baykeeper, the non-profit environmental watchdog, filed a lawsuit in federal court in March against auto processor Amports, The Benicia Port Terminal Company and oil giant Valero for allegedly discharging petroleum coke into the Carquinez Strait at the Port of Benicia.
Cut to Saturday, April 9, and the port structure was up in flames. The inferno made national news.
According to Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick, the fire originated at the petcoke chutes on the port.
“While the fire investigation is still open and ongoing,” said the chief in a statement, “preliminary findings indicate that the origin of the fire was on or near the lower portion of the coke conveyor belt system near the base of the silos.”
The Baykeeper suit alleges that the defendants broke California law by discharging a petroleum byproduct into its jurisdictional waters and federal law by discharging pollutants into waters of the United States without permits.
Petroleum coke, or petcoke, is a byproduct of oil refining. According to Baykeeper’s suit, petcoke is “harmful and deleterious to aquatic ecosystems, animal and plant species in and around waters and poses risks to human health.”
Amports stores the petcoke for Valero, which it transfers from silos, up a conveyer, into a crane, and then out of a nozzle onto a cargo ship. Baykeeper contends that “overspray” occurs during this process, sending plumes of petcoke over the dock, water, ships, and onto the facility itself.
Baykeeper’s chief concern was the runoff into the strait from hosing down the dust and other accumulated petcoke dust, but now that the port went up in flames it’s hard not to question petcoke’s role in the blaze.
“Fossil fuels are dirty and dangerous every step of the way—from drilling, to processing and transporting, to burning for fuel,” said Baykeeper executive director Sejal Choksi-Chugh. “The fire at the Port of Benicia could have been much, much worse, and we’re thankful that no lives were lost in the incident. Baykeeper will continue to monitor the site and engage with the operators, and if there are plans to reopen the port, we will advocate for stronger measures to protect the health of the Bay and its communities from the potential risks posed by petcoke.”
Indeed, the port’s eastern and western terminals are either already re-opened or will be very soon. Amports wants to begin receiving cars again and Valero wants to receive crude, according to the City of Benicia. The petcoke area will still be shut down, however.
Requests for comment from Valero were not returned, nor were those to Amports.
xxx parts of this story originally appeared in Bay City News, Copyright 2022
