Source: New York Times on-line, Thursday July 21, 2005
New Emission Rule for Bay Area Refineries
By CAROLYN MARSHALL
Published: July 21, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO, July 20 -
California air regulators on Wednesday adopted a rule,
the first of its kind in the nation, intended to reduce sharply the fiery
flares and excess gas emissions vented from oil refineries in the Bay Area.
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The rule is aimed at decreasing the level of hazardous air pollutants released
by flares, an emergency mechanism used to vent excess pressure inside the
plants. The flares' emissions, typically sulfur and hydrocarbons, can cause
foul odors and have been linked to asthma and other breathing problems in
residents living near oil and chemical refineries.
"People can smell it, see it and oftentimes start to experience health effects,"
said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the Bay Area Air Quality Management
District, the agency that adopted the new rule. "When there is an event, it can
be quite substantial in the amount of flaring."
The rule, intended to control the largest flares, requires each refinery to
prepare a flare-minimization plan based on an analysis of releases of at least
500,000 standard cubic feet. It comes after four years of negotiations between
regulators, the industry and community groups.
Those involved said the rule could become a model for flare control across the
nation; a similar rule is under consideration for the Los Angeles area.
"It's something that is very progressive," said Walton Gill, a spokesman for the
Chevron Corporation, which has its headquarters and a plant in the Bay Area.
"But it's a rule that allows us the flexibility to operate the plant."
At an air district board meeting here on Wednesday, environmental and labor
groups convinced the board that it should re-examine the new rule within a year
to determine whether it goes far enough.
Environmentalists had hoped for a threshold of 100,000 standard cubic feet but
said they viewed the rule as a move in the right direction.
"We're projecting this rule will clean up about half of the problem from the
worst episodic exposures," said Greg Karras, a senior scientist with
Communities for a Better Environment, a nonprofit group. "Now we need to go
after other refinery sources."
Mr. Broadbent said that there were about 120 releases in the range of 500,000
standard cubic feet each year from local refineries and from local chemical
plants, which are not yet covered by the rule.
"We are looking at this as a first step and looking at other industries we can
extend to," he said.
There are scores of other industrial plants in the Bay Area, and roughly a dozen
chemical plants emit flares, he said.
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