http://www.contracostatimes.com/contra-costa-times/ci_24922079/richmond-federal-board-at-odds-over-recommendations-stemming

Richmond: Federal board rejects safety recommendations stemming from Chevron refinery fire
By Robert Rogers
Contra Costa Times
Posted:   01/16/2014 06:24:01 AM PST | Updated:   75 min. ago

RICHMOND -- A divided U.S. Chemical Safety Board voted Wednesday night to halt their staff's recommendations that refineries be subject to a European-style regulatory regime.

"The goal is to make the report stronger," said CSB Board member Beth Rosenberg.

The divided vote to decline to accept the CSB's staff report, which staff members said was highly unusual, stemmed from rising concerns about whether to recommend that California refineries be subject to a safety case regime, a regulatory structure that could mean major changes to the way refineries have been monitored for decades.

The meeting, in Richmond City Council chambers, was called to vote on the CSB's report from its investigation into the Aug. 6, 2012, fire at Richmond's Chevron refinery. The fire, which was blamed on corroded pipes neglected by Chevron officials, sent more than 15,000 people to area hospitals for respiratory and other discomforts.

The safety case regime, which would require companies to demonstrate that they are operating in the safest manner possible through written safety case reports reviewed by regulators, may be insufficient and unnecessarily complex, Rosenberg said.

"It's a long term plan, but you need more immediate remedies," she said.

The vote gives staff up to 120 days to modify the report, which will then come back to the board for another approval vote.

Prior to Wednesday's meeting, Board Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso was firm in his belief that the safety case regime was the right approach. He was the lone vote in favor of adopting the staff report.

"We have a refinery safety problem in the U.S.," Moure-Eraso said. "The current regulatory system is clearly not working."

Moure-Eraso's sentiments were echoed by Dan Tillema, a lead investigator for CSB.

"I don't see any downside to the safety case regime," Tillema said. "But there will be industry resistance."

Don Holmstrom, head of the CSB's western regional office, described the safety case regime as focused on forcing companies to provide documentation demonstrating how they are reducing risks, a model now used in Europe. Holmstrom and other staff members produced a 115-page report that is a robust call for implementing the safety case regime in California and, eventually, nationwide.

In addition, the regime would require refineries to adopt the safest available technology and to take proactive steps to fix potential problems rather than simply monitoring them as they worsen. The reports submitted by companies would be reviewed by technically competent regulators, and summaries would be available to workers and the public.

But the third voting member of the board, Mark Griffon, said critiques of the report submitted by industry officials and scientists "indicates more study is needed" before recommending adoption of the safety case regime.

"A little more work may get us there," Griffon said, adding that he wanted more recommendations about strengthening existing enforcement powers held by state and county regulators.

The CSB's first interim report, which was approved by the board at a public meeting in April, found that Chevron repeatedly failed over a 10-year period to apply inherently safer design principles and upgrade piping in its crude oil processing unit, which was corroded and ultimately ruptured.

The CSB is an investigative agency without enforcement power, but its recommendations are expected to influence state, county and local policies regulating refineries.

More than 150 people packed the chambers, many holding signs in support of the safety case regime.

Industry officials, in written comments and during public comments Wednesday, expressed skepticism about adopting a safety case regime and said improvements to existing systems would be more effective.

"Adopting the safety case regime would add complexity and uncertainty" without guaranteed benefits, said Ron Chittim, a senior policy adviser for the American Petroleum Institute.

In a written statement released earlier Wednesday, Western States Petroleum Association President Catherine Reheis-Boyd urged California and Contra Costa officials to take "a thoughtful and cautious approach."

Reheis-Boyd wrote that moving too quickly to adopt some of the programs recommended by the CSB could inject a high level of complexity and confusion into long-standing and successful safety programs.

"We must be very careful in how we introduce change, especially into programs that have a long record of acceptance and success," she wrote.

Other commenters, including representatives from labor organizations, cautioned that the report's sweeping recommendations may prove infeasible, and even detract energy and resources from more practical approaches, like tweaks to the current regulatory structure that could streamline appeals processes and increase fines.

Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin remained steadfast in her support of the CSB's recommendations, as did many representatives from local environmental groups who hail the safety case regime as an effective approach to rein in reckless industry leaders.

"We need this, it focuses on prevention," McLaughlin said. "We will not move forward with any local permits (for construction at the refinery) until the safety case regime is implemented."

Contact Robert Rogers at 510-262-2726 or rrogers@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/SFBaynewsrogers.

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