Does the current Community Advisory Panel accomplish independent oversight?

Before the timeline for comments is closed, I want to reiterate the fact that we’ve had an advisory MOU with Valero in the past. The whole purpose of taking the ISO route was to have a document that will protect us from polluters who have a well documented history of not reporting incidents, hiding them, denying them. If we settle for having only an advisory panel over the polluters, be it Valero or some even worse oil refinery, should Valero decide to leave, this watered down version of an ISO will have been a total waste of precious time that could have been spent on many other pressing issues. Shame on us. Benicians deserve a strong ISO with an independent oversight commission. Polluters must adhere to consequences not just receive toothless advice. No resident in Benicia will complain if the ISO protects us, every resident will not only complain but potentially suffer health wise, if this ISO doesn’t protect us. I implore the city council to protect us with a strong ISO. We may never get another chance.

Apparently, given the ongoing egregious violations that continue to occur with Valero's operations, this "independent oversight" is not working. The proposed Benicia Industrial Safety Ordinance contains a solid component of a citizen oversight committee. As a 66 year resident of Benicia, I want to see citizen-led oversight.

This is both a general comment and specific to the question. The ISO is wanted and needed. It is my understanding that every county in the Bay Area that has within its borders an oil refinery also has an Industrial safety ordinance--except Benicia. Why are we so exceptional? It is as though Benicia is stuck in a time warp that has allowed it to miss clean air initiatives that swept the U.S. some 50 years ago. The recent revelation that the Valero owners have been pouring cancer-causing chemicals into our air (a pattern that the feckless Bay Area Air Quality Management District missed year-after-year) for a decade or more makes an ISO with teeth imperative. (The recent swing to an anti-renewable-energy upcoming administration in Washington makes all of these things at the local level imperative as well, it goes without saying.). The CAP does not have teeth. The CAP did not catch or prevent the flagrant violation, noted above. The ISO, if written properly and not watered down, would and should have teeth so there are real consequences to this Texas-based company (where, I guess, polluting is a part of everyday life), including millions of dollars in fines, such as was leveled against it by BAAQMD just recently. Do we as citizens really think so little of ourselves and our town that we cannot have what every other town has in place? Is it because we are in Solano County, an area that seems to struggle with feeling poorer and disenfranchised from the rest of the Bay Area (when will a BART come to us using the millions in bridge toll fees we all pay each year?). We're a proud town. The Velero oil refinery does not define us; it is one facet of the economy, its long history here notwithstanding. The town has deep roots in what allowed the Bay Area to flourish. It was our water-level geography that allowed the barges to bring people from the East to what are now Contra Costa and Alameda Counties--when the bluffs of Crocket and Vallejo probably looked like useless cliffs before the bridges finally were built. Anyway, no, the CAP is not sufficient; Valero has shown repeatedly it is NOT a team player, that it will run roughshod over a town and its people, if not forced (like an antisocial delinquent) by real consequences to follow the rules, be transparent, admit to mistakes when they occur and swiftly correct them, not meddle in this very small town's politics, etc. [Note: the format of this website divides comments into different questions. This helps group comments, but it also means that someone reading one question but not another will miss the general comments I have made, which are relevant to all of the questions about an I.S.O. For this reason I am using much of this text to comment in the other questions as well.

I did not even know the CAP existed until last year. So I have no idea what they have done in the many years they have been in existence. I do know that in 2022 we found out from the EPA that Valero had been expelling toxic levels of carcinogenic chemicals for over 15 years into Benicia's air and didn't notify us. Where was the CAP during this time? Again, if you don't identify yourself please do not expect a response from me.

The CAP is not open to public feedback. It's like the fox guarding the hen house

All of these comments are thoughtful and clear - thank you for your feedback! Your questions, concerns, and suggestions will be considered as the draft ordinance is developed.