August 2, 2013:

RICHMOND -- On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the disastrous Chevron refinery fire, the city of Richmond sued the company Friday, accusing officials of placing profits and executive pay over public safety. The crude-oil pipeline leak that led to the "terrifying" blaze Aug. 6, 2012, was "a continuation of years of neglect, lax oversight and corporate indifference to necessary safety inspection and repairs," said the suit filed against Chevron Corp. in Contra Costa County Superior Court. Richmond city officials and attorneys filing the suit were to discuss the case at a news conference later Friday. Chevron officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

When a corroded pipe burst, a "ferocious fireball" erupted, creating a plume of smoke and gas that prompted 15,000 people in Richmond and surrounding cities to seek treatment at hospitals for respiratory problems, the suit said. As Chevron was ignoring public-safety concerns at the refinery, it was paying $52.8 million to compensate its top three executives in 2011 alone, said the suit. The city is seeking unspecified damages, claiming negligence and public and private nuisance. In an interim report in April, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board said the fire that destroyed part of the refinery happened because weak state regulations allowed the company to monitor rather than simply fix potential problems. Company engineers had recommended that the corroded pipe be replaced.

The Chronicle reported last year that the agency conducted three planned inspections at the Richmond refinery in the six years before the fire, spending a total of 150 inspector hours. In at least one of the cases, the inspector did not actually visit the refinery. The level of state oversight was similar at the 14 other refineries in California.

By San Francisco Chronicle

Aguust 2, 2013:

The dates for assembly polls in the state are yet to be announced though it is almost certain that the elections will be held in November or December. However, the poll fever started almost four months ago when the two key parties — Congress and BJP — launched their statewide yatras. Steering her party's 'Suraaj Sankalp Yatra,' former chief minister and BJP state president Vasundhara Raje has travelled almost 4,000 km in 75 days since the roadshow began from Rajsamand on April 4. On the concluding day of the yatra in Jodhpur region on Wednesday, TOI accompanied her from Shergarh to Bambor on Jodhpur-Jaisalmer highway. She had several public gatherings lined up on the way to Jodhpur, where she also addressed a massive rally in the presence of party stalwarts Sushma Swaraj and Jaswant Singh.

By The Times of India

August 1, 2013:

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 Utah) – Thursday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with Chevron in which the company agreed to pay $384,000 in penalties for violating the Clean Air Act at its refinery in Salt Lake City. The settlement stems from Clean Air Act violations which were discovered through an inspection by EPA and the State of Utah. The inspections found that Chevron made changes to the refinery's Fluid Catalytic Cracker Unit resulting in excess emissions of nitrogen oxides. Nitrogen oxide contributes to ground-level ozone, acid rain, and destruction of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and can also irritate the lungs and lower resistance to respiratory illnesses. "It is critical that companies conduct business responsibly and obtain the proper permits before making infrastructure changes that increase emissions of air pollutants," said Mike Gaydosh, director of EPA's enforcement program in Denver. "This settlement will help ensure the company is operating in accordance with industry standards to protect the environment and the health of local communities." The settlement also requires Chevron to spend $100,000 in helping purchase four new, compressed natural gas school buses for the Jordan School District. The Jordan School District has been busing around students in CNG busses for about 13 years says the district’s transportation director. Herb Jensen tells ABC 4 Utah, “We were the pioneers in natural gas busses in the state of Utah.” Of the district’s 225 busses, 56 are natural gas. "It's the environmentally responsible thing to do, but it's also a very financially lucrative decision / investment for us to make,” explained Jensen.

So why did the Jordan School District get the money for CNG busses and not a community closer to where the pollution was released? Jensen explains, "We have a program that's proven and we're not knew to this." That and they’re one of only three school districts in the state with the CNG busses and the only school district with its own compressed natural gas compressor. Because the Jordan School District has its own compressor and fueling stations they save an average of $7,500 per bus per year when compared to diesel. The school district expects those busses in their fleet by the end of the month.

By abc4.com

JOLIET, Ill. WLS- A history of incidents at a major southwest suburban oil refinery has led to legal action and the I-Team has discovered additional public safety questions. After a recent release of a potentially dangerous chemical into the atmosphere, the I-Team has learned that state officials are trying to crack down on ExxonMobil's refinery near Joliet. But there's a larger cloud of doubt that has been uncovered and some local residents say they are questioning their family's safety. "Horrible. Babies, your kids, animals, and then they don't know about it?" said Allison Stipanovich. It's the unknown that has Stipanovich worried. She lives near the ExxonMobil Refinery, or in the case of what happened this past October, within raining distance. That's when an oily mist from the plant fell onto surrounding towns and neighborhoods without warning, even shutting down i-55. Now Stipanovich says she's worried about a chemical release from the plant this spring that went undetected for nine hours. "It's scary, because you don't know what that could lead to," she said. "Should you live around here? Should you move if they're not aware of those things? They need to get it under control to make sure that this doesn't happen." The most recent incident at the plant is leading to legal action. The state attorney general and will county prosecutors filed this lawsuit charging air pollution violations by ExxonMobil. According to emergency reports the company filed with the state, a "valve failure" that went undetected for nine hours in March, led to an airborne release of more than four thousand pounds of the potentially dangerous chemical hydrogen sulfide.

"It can be very dangerous," said Dr. Samuel Dorevitch. "Given that there have been high level releases, if I lived in that community I would want to know what the community level exposure has been." The I-Team's inspection of United States Environmental Protection Agency records reveals additional potential threats to public health and safety.

First, according to the U.S. EPA, ExxonMobil allegedly violated three different environmental laws at Channahon from 2008 through 2011, including improper handling of hazardous waste and failing to provide immediate public notice of releases to the environment. Second, the facility has filed 64 hazardous materials incident reports since 2010 for releasing potentially dangerous chemicals in excess of legal limits. Finally, in a federal filing a month ago, ExxonMobil said its Channahon plant reached daily levels of hydrogen sulfide release in 2012 that were so high that they had to notify the EPA. An ExxonMobil statement says that the emissions are consistent with industry standards.

ExxonMobil wouldn't provide an on camera response for this report and their security guards tried to stop us from shooting video of the plant. In a statement, the company says it's "committed to environmental performance excellence" and their goal is to have no environmental incidents.

"What's most surprising is that a leak like this can go for nine hours without being detected this is frightening," said Ellen Rendulich, Citizens Against Ruining the Environment. Southwest suburban environmental activists say this incident is just their latest concern with facilities throughout the Chicago area. "This is an all-encompassing problem," said Carol Stark, Citizens Against Ruining the Environment. "It's not just a localized problem because air doesn't have a boundary." As for that October oil storm? An ExxonMobil spokeswoman said the company responded quickly to the incident and regrets any inconvenience to their neighbors. ExxonMobil reports their facility has been recently inspected by Illinois and U.S. EPA with no violations noted and that they comply with all permits, rules and regulations.

By WLS-TV/DT

August 1, 2013:

Suncor Energy Inc , Canada's largest oil and gas company, said on Thursday it plans to ship Western Canadian crude to its 130,000 barrel per day Montreal refinery. Steve Williams, Suncor's chief executive, said on a conference call that the company was building a terminal at the refinery that would allow it to receive crude shipments by rail, replacing the imported oil it currently processes.  He did not say when the project would be complete.

By Reuters