2 proposed bills target refinery safety LEGISLATURE

Two East Bay legislators introduced companion bills Monday, aimed largely at Chevron, that would boost fines for industrial plants that violate air-pollution laws and would require that oil companies and other firms fix hazardous conditions even as they appeal state penalties.

The bills - by state Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, and Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley - arose out of the Aug. 6 fire at Chevron's Richmond refinery that sent 15,000 people to hospitals complaining of respiratory and other problems. State workplace safety investigations into the fire and related conditions at the refinery led officials to propose fines against Chevron totaling nearly $1 million.

Hancock's SB691 would quadruple the amount that air-quality officials could fine a refinery on the first day of a major fire or other pollution-causing incident, to $100,000 from the current $25,000. The lower amount would remain the top daily fine for subsequent days.

"We have learned some hard lessons" from the Chevron fire, Hancock said. "We have to take steps to assure they never happen again."

Hancock called current air-pollution penalties "really laughable."

Fines that the Bay Area Air Quality Management District can levy against local refineries or other stationary pollution sources "haven't been raised in over a decade," Hancock said. "For companies that make a million dollars a minute, fines should be enough to at least get the management's attention in the first day."

The Bay Area air-quality district supports the bill.

Skinner's AB1165 would close what she described as a loophole that allows companies that appeal workplace-safety violations to avoid dealing with potentially serious dangers during the often lengthy challenge.

The bill would require refineries to correct serious, willful or repeated serious violations even during appeals before the state's occupational and safety appeals board.

Cal/OSHA, which investigates workplace safety violations, proposed last month that Chevron be fined for several allegedly serious and willful violations of state and federal law, including makeshift leak repairs that investigators found at the Richmond refinery after the August fire. Chevron has appealed the fines.

Skinner said her bill would fix a flaw in current law. If Cal/OSHA inspectors find a violation while doing a planned inspection, the company must correct it, she noted. But currently, if the problem is found following an accident, the company doesn't have to act during its appeal.

"I'm hoping that people will view this as something that does not violate a company's rights," she said, but will instead ensure that hazardous conditions are fixed.

Chevron spokesman Sean Comey issued a statement saying, "It would be premature to make any comments about this proposed legislation until we have had a chance to review it in detail."