Refining Richmond's environment
By Amie Ahn Sep. 25, 2024
Looking out onto the horizon, Richmond residents catch sight of a gray, polluted sky—the result of smog blowing from smokestacks at the Chevron oil refinery looming over the city. Yet reparations are being made: on Aug. 14, the Richmond city council unanimously agreed to a $550 million settlement with Chevron so the company could pay for the heavy air pollution inflicted on the citizens.
The settlement money will replace a proposed tax that would have required drivers resupplying their gas at a Chevron gas station to pay an additional sum of money. Chevron expressed disapproval; instead, beginning in July next year, the company will make $50 million payments annually to the city, increasing to $60 million annually after five years. This money will go into Richmond’s general community fund.
“The money should have a definite purpose, either for environmental purposes or for raising public awareness about the harms of the factory. If it sits in the city funds with no immediate or clear use, it may fall into the hands of corruption,” Junior Daniel Xu said.
Chevron is a private energy company specializing in gas and oil, with gas stations operating in over 180 countries worldwide. Its refinery in Richmond serves as the city’s largest employer and source of tax revenue. However, the factory poses a threat to residents of the city; dangerous fires in both 1989 and 2012 sparked at the refinery—in the latter, 15,000 Richmond residents were forced to seek medical care due to respiratory issues.
Along with the harmful impact of these oil accidents, the smoke led to a prominent uptick in respiratory illness and cancer in Richmond residents, per Natural Resources Defense Council. Five to 11 premature deaths occur each year due to factory emissions, and the asthma rates for Richmond are higher than 90% of other Californians, according to state data. Furthermore, one in every four children growing up in Richmond develop asthma at some point in their lives.
However, minority groups are more vulnerable to health threats imposed by the factory; due to historical redlining, the refinery was established near low-income communities of color. Additionally, local news reports have little coverage on oil accidents at the plant because “The Richmond Standard,” the primary newspaper of the city, is owned by Chevron.
“Private institutions should not be allowed to own news companies because it will inevitably lead to bias, benefitting their personal agendas. Such bias could be prevented by having articles peer reviewed and fact checked by journalists unaffiliated with the company,” Sophomore Trisha Harish said.
As a result of media censorship, Richmond city people commonly rely on each other for accurate information. Accordingly, Richmonders spoke out against Chevron the most through protests and organizations. For example, the Asian Pacific Environmental Network, a group that advocates environmental justice for the Laotian community in Richmond,succeeded in securing a multilingual warning system for the refinery on top of initially proposing the refinery tax.
After decades of environmental harm, Chevron’s settlement has the potential to improve health conditions and contribute to environmental restoration. This could mark the beginning of a cleaner city for all Richmond residents, including those of historically discriminated communities.
About the Contributors
Amie Ahn
staff writer
Amie Ahn is a sophomore at Leland High School and a writer for the Charger Account. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, hanging out with friends and eating.
Dana Lim
art director
Dana Lim is a Senior at Leland High School and the Charger Account's Art Director. She loves the creative aspect of art and this is her fourth year in journalism. She likes listening to music, nights out with friends, and cats.
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