Cap All Pollutants

Bay Area Air Quality Management District Board of Directors Special Meeting at 9:45 AM.

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Putting a halt to unchecked refinery pollution is not exactly a radical proposition. But the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, whose job it is to protect our health and climate, is proposing refinery emissions regulations that not only fail to cap pollutants and greenhouse gases but would actually allow increases in refinery pollution. Although the Air District claims it is "reducing GHG emissions and protecting the climate," it intends to exempt GHGs from local regulation.

We are demanding enforceable, facility-wide numeric caps on toxic particulates and climate-wrecking greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions need to be capped at current levels and brought down over time.

Without these caps in place, refineries will be able to bring in dirtier and more dangerous grades of extreme crude—like tar sands— with absolutely impunity.

The Stationary Source Committee was to have met on Monday, October 19th to discuss for the very first time the Community-Worker proposal for refinery-wide caps that is summarized above. Then Chief Executive Officer Jack Broadbent cancelled that meeting.

We have accordingly cancelled our call for a rally and public testimony on the 19th, but we are not withdrawing our demand for refinery emission regulations with real teeth.


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Regulation 12, Rule 15—Petroleum Refining Emissions Tracking, and draft Regulation 12, Rule 16—Petroleum Refining Emissions Limits and Risk Thresholds isn't putting restrictions on other sources of pollution, including fracking.