Refinery Hit With Joint Civil Action By County, State, Air District

MARTINEZ, CA — Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s chief counsel, Alexander Crockett, announced a joint civil enforcement action against the Martinez Refining Company.

In addition to the Air District, agencies involved in the litigation against the refinery include Contra Costa County Health and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The agencies' enforcement claims and notices of violation stem from a spent-catalyst release at the refinery at 3485 Pacheco Blvd. in unincorporated Martinez over the 2022 Thanksgiving holiday, along with additional enforcement claims.

The refinery released an estimated 20 to 24 tons of "spent catalyst" into the surrounding community from about 9:30 p.m. Nov. 24 until the following morning, when residents found their yards and vehicles covered in metallic dust.

The refinery failed to alert the county health department and the community warning system, both of which are legally mandated within 15 minutes of a release.

County health officials didn't find out about the release until the following Saturday when alerted to social media posts about the dust.

During an Oct. 18 Martinez City Council meeting, Martinez Refining Company's manager, Daniel Ingram, apologized and told the council the company has taken numerous corrective actions to ensure the events of last Thanksgiving weekend don't happen again.

According to Ingram, operators were unaware the release was affecting the outside community until the next day. The refinery held off notifying authorities until it could assess whether the release was harmful, he said. The refinery has since "adjusted our procedures" so it notifies outside authorities as soon as the slightest measure of a release is noted.

"The moment that alarm goes off, we're making that notification immediately," Ingram said.

Initial testing of the Thanksgiving release showed the dust contained elevated levels of aluminum, barium, chromium, nickel, vanadium and zinc, all of which can cause respiratory problems.

Ingram also addressed three smaller releases of "coke dust," which is a byproduct of oil refining. The first release on July 11 was under a minute long and created steam with coke dust, which was then carried into the community by wind.

The second release was on July 22 and was contained on-site. The third release happened Oct. 6 and was termed by refinery officials as "brief" in a unit that has since been taken offline. Ingram pointed out that, under the refinery's new procedures, the refinery immediately notified the health department and the community.

Internal investigations at the refinery have since prompted procedural corrections and led to new "red-tag" safety drills for better responses moving forward.

Partnership Combines Resources For Best Possible Results

Since Day 1 following the Thanksgiving incident, the DA's Office has said it was investigating the refinery for failing to notify authorities. The county's Board of Supervisors put together an oversight committee, including residents from affected areas, to investigate the cause and determine whether the release increased the risk of community health problems.

Moving forward, the legal action announced this week "is a collaborative effort to enforce the law and ensure public safety," the agencies said in a joint news release.

"The goal of this joint effort with the Air District is to achieve a resolution that ensures environmental compliance, and to rebuild and foster a safer community for the residents of Martinez," District Attorney Diana Becton said.

"We welcome the opportunity to work collaboratively with the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office as we take a comprehensive approach to ensure MRC’s compliance with all air quality regulations," said Alexander Crockett, chief attorney for the Air District. "This partnership combines our prosecutorial resources to help ensure we achieve the best possible results for the residents of Martinez."

Here is the joint statement announcing the civil enforcement action.

— Bay City News Service contributed to this report.