Posted on May 7, 2008

Richmond Adds Another Consultant to Study, Advise on Chevron Project

By Katherine Tam
West County Times

Richmond has hired an outside consultant to help determine what kind of crude oil the Chevron refinery processes and whether a series of proposed upgrades would allow the company to process heavier crude.

Both questions are at the forefront of the public debate about whether Chevron should be allowed to replace its hydrogen plant, power plant and reformer. Refinery representatives say their project will make the facility safer and more efficient while allowing it to produce more California-grade gasoline. But opponents say the upgrades open the door to the processing of heavier crude, which could increase air pollution and health problems.

The city hopes to have answers by June 5, when the Planning Commission resumes its decision-making meeting, City Manager Bill Lindsay said.

This isn't the first time officials have recruited outsiders to help review Chevron's complex proposal. But Ranajit Sahu, an engineer consultant with expertise in air quality and refineries, would be given access to information that Chevron has not disclosed before because it considers it a trade secret and proprietary. In exchange, the city would agree to keep that information confidential.

Project opponents urged the City Council on Tuesday night to reject the confidentiality clause. The community won't understand the city's ruling on the project, they said, if the rationale behind it is not made public. Nor will residents be able to determine themselves if the project is good for Richmond.

"No public information, no permit," resident Juan Reardon chanted from the back of the council chambers as officials deliberated.

The council voted 6-3 to approve the $50,000 contract for Sahu. Councilwoman Maria Viramontes, who proposed the motion, said the city must have expert testimony to fortify its case if it is sued. "The information will be aggregated in a way that the public will have an opportunity to see and understand the judgment that will be made by this individual, and the council will get what it needs to make a decision," Viramontes said.

Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and Councilmen Tom Butt and Tony Thurmond voted no. [emphasis added]

"I don't think it's right for this city to be making decisions based on information that the public doesn't have," Butt said.

City officials earlier retained Sahu for some analysis under a $10,000 contract.

Sahu is an engineer with more than 17 years of environmental, mechanical and chemical engineering experience, according to his resume. His clients have included steel mills, refineries, power generation facilities, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, federal Department of Justice and California Department of Toxic Substances Control. He has taught air pollution at UCLA, UC Riverside and the University of Southern California.

Communities for a Better Environment, which opposes Chevron's plans, and a chemist hired by the state Attorney General's Office said the project would enable the refinery to process heavier crude. They are seeking tighter restrictions, including a limit on the crude mix.

Chevron says it will not refine heavier crude. Spokesman Dean O'Hair has said critics are looking at one piece of the refinery's equipment, rather than the whole picture, and drawing an incorrect conclusion.

McLaughlin said Tuesday she is disappointed the city still does not have an answer to the crude slate question, despite much city staff time and multiple consultants. "There's a deliberate reason for that, and I think it's an inability to confront Chevron," she said. "And that has to be reversed in this city. There has to be a willingness to confront Chevron." [emphasis added]

Some planning commissioners told city staff April 10 to find a way to determine what kind of crude the refinery would be able to process if machinery is upgraded. They also told city staff to revisit the possible conditions of approval.

Reach Katherine Tam at 510-262-2787 or ktam@bayareanewsgroup.com.