SAN FRANCISCO — Environmental advocacy groups succeeded in dashing plans to create two biofuel facilities in Contra Costa County, Calif., after a court found Friday that the county relied on incomplete and unreliable environmental reviews in approving the two refineries.
The proposed pair of projects aimed to convert old crude oil processing plants into refineries that would produce biofuels from vegetable oil and animal fat.
But the county's approval thwarted the California Environmental Quality Act, which requires state and local agencies within California to follow a protocol of analysis and public disclosure of environmental impacts of proposed projects and adopt all feasible measures to mitigate those impacts, the Contra Costa County Superior Court found.
In Friday's ruling the court said an environmental review of one refinery, the Marathon-Tesoro refinery in Martinez, Calif., failed to evaluate ways to properly reduce odors from the refinery. For the other, the Phillips 66 refinery in Rodeo, Calif., the county failed to properly assess major project components and there were odor mitigation issues.
“The court finds that the record does not show that there are feasible mitigation measures, which could not be finished when the EIR was certified due to practical considerations. Therefore, the court finds that the County violated CEQA by allowing deferred mitigation for the odor impacts without complying with CEQA Guidelines,” wrote Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Edward Weil.
The court ordered the county to set aside its environmental review of the Phillips 66 project and redo flawed sections. For the Marathon-Tesoro refinery, the county must improve its odor mitigation measures.
Communities For a Better Environment and the Center for Biological Diversity filed suit last year to address issues with the two planned biofuel conversion refinery projects.
“I’m glad the court agreed with us that the county fell far short in failing to disclose critical information about the negative impacts from these projects,” Victoria Bogdan Tejeda, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, said following the decision. “CEQA is California’s bedrock environmental law, meant to provide decision makers and the public with vital information. In the face of the significant environmental and community harms these projects would cause, the county’s incomplete reviews were inexcusable.”
If it is ultimately approved, the Phillips 66 refinery would be one of the biggest biofuel refineries in the world, producing more than a billion gallons per year of biofuel products. The Marathon-Tesoro project would produce 700,000 pounds per year of product, making it one of the largest in California.
As a crude oil plant, the Marathon refinery operated for over 100 years until 2020.
The refineries are about 10 miles apart, Tejada said, and are near communities that the state of California classifies as disadvantaged due to exposure from pollution from other industries.
“Workers and local residents deserve to lead in shaping the future of the communities they call home,” said Ben Clark, a certified student attorney with the Stanford Environmental Law Clinic who argued the case against Marathon. “We hope that today’s decisions mark a turning point, one that begins to reverse a legacy of fossil fuel harm and advance a just transition to the equitable future that Martinez and Rodeo residents have fought so long and so hard for.”
The Center for Biological Diversity said in a press release that the refineries would require thousands of trucks, ships, and rail trips that would increase emissions for nearby communities. Both projects also bring with them the chances of environmental spills or accidents, according to Tejada.
Beyond the immediate environmental risks, Tejada drew a line to potential future harms, noting that emissions from the refineries could contribute to worsening heat waves and other climate crises hitting the western United States.
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