New study catalogs water pollutants released by Bay Area oil refineries
Chevron’s oil refinery in Richmond is among the U.S. petroleum producers that most regularly exceed limits aimed at keeping pollution out of local waterways, according to a nonprofit that ranked it eighth worst out of 81 oil refineries on that point after studying Environmental Protection Agency reports. From 2019 through 2021, the EPA recorded 27 instances when the Richmond facility reported dumping unpermitted amounts of regulated substances into San Pablo Bay, researchers with national nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project found. None of those violations resulted in official enforcement actions or financial penalties, the group said.