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Valero Energy Corp.

Air Quality Violations at Benicia Refinery

Date: 11/15/2011 (Date of Settlement Announcement)

Misconduct Type: Environment

Enforcement Agency: State/Local

Contracting Party: None

Court Type: Civil

Amount: $130,500

Disposition: Settlement

Synopsis: The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) reached a settlement with Valero Refining Co. to pay a $130,500 civil penalty to resolve air quality violations at its refinery in Benicia, California. The settlement covers 23 Notices of Violation that BAAQMD issued against Valero for incidents that occurred at the facility in 2008 and 2009. All violations were corrected promptly. One violation involved a public nuisance from brief offsite odors, while the remainder involved no offsite impacts to the neighboring community. Of the remaining 22 violations, six were administrative violations and fifteen involved brief violations of emissions limits. Only one violation, involving leakage of gas turbine exhaust, lasted for more than a week. None of the violations posed a significant threat to air quality or public health.