CROCKETT – Nearly five years after a large explosion at an East Bay gas station shut down one among the Bay Area’s busiest highways and compelled surrounding communities into shelters, Contra Costa County officials have approved a plan The aim is to stop future disasters at dangerous goods terminals.
In October 2019 Fire broke out at NuStar Energy plant in Crockettcausing two large ethanol tanks to catch fire and the fireplace to spread to vegetation on a close-by hill, where it burned for several hours.
A subsequent investigation determined that the explosion at NuStar's Selby Terminal was almost certainly attributable to an electrical spark that released ethanol fumes, which in turn triggered explosions heard for miles, in keeping with witnesses, and created a fireball visible from nearby Interstate 80.
While the Crockett site can process up to 3 million barrels of fuel, the destroyed tanks held only about 1 percent of their 200,000 barrel ethanol capability.
The county amended its occupational safety ordinance on Tuesday to require best practices for stopping accidental releases at NuStar and 15 other regional energy storage facilities. Those sites — all have a minimum of one tank with a capability of over 50,000 gallons and contain a minimum of 10,000 kilos of flammable liquid — previously operated without most of the relatively strict federal, state and native safety guidelines that apply to grease refineries and chemical plants.
Nicole Heath, Contra Costa County's hazardous materials program manager, said the revised safety ordinance is designed to emphasise public participation and protect surrounding communities and the environment.
Heath said three facilities in unincorporated Contra Costa County — including the NuStar facility, one in Martinez and one in Richmond — at the moment are covered by the ordinance's latest tank farm oversight. After county approval this week, elected officials in Richmond, Martinez and Pittsburg will consider adopting similar regulations for facilities inside their city limits.
“These changes are aimed at preventing incidents like the 2019 NuStar incident,” Heath said Tuesday. “We hope that by implementing these additional elements of the process safety program now, we will increase safety at these facilities.”
In addition to an overarching safety program management system, the updated regulation focuses on several key areas: safety information, operating procedures, mechanical integrity, change management, pre-commissioning reviews, accident investigation and emergency response.
Department staff will now review submitted safety plans, conduct initial and periodic audits and inspections, and order any essential changes to make sure full compliance with county regulations.
For example, firms will need to have clearly defined internal chains of command, emergency plans, reporting procedures, worker training and thorough investigations that transcend reporting uncontrolled ignitions, serious chemical accidents or other incidents.
In addition, the regulation requires tank storage operators to record and review safety procedures within the event of great equipment upgrades or material changes.
Citizens will give you the option to view these reports online and through annual performance reviews at future county board meetings. Industrial firms that don’t comply with the updated regulations may face enforcement motion, including criminal prosecution and administrative penalties.
Supervisor John Gioia said the recent changes are critical to strengthening the county's hazardous materials programs, which implement “the most stringent local safety regulations in the country for refineries, chemical plants and now these storage tanks,” in keeping with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board.
Still, he praised the way in which county officials proceed to expand their oversight of those industrial facilities, which is unusual throughout California.
“After the unfortunate tragedy at NuStar, we began a longer process than we thought it would take,” Gioia said during Tuesday's board meeting. Despite the delay, he said, “our county has become safer as a result.”
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