A Martinez refinery has been fined $5 million over 4 years for air quality violations, authorities said Thursday.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District announced the penalty against the Marathon Martinez refinery, saying it involved 59 violations from 2018 to 2022. The district said the penalty was the second largest it had ever imposed.
The refinery is operated by Marathon subsidiary Tesoro Refining & Marketing Company, LLC.
According to the county, the fines are civil penalties for flaring as Marathon shut down its refinery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Marathon improperly flared vapors from operating storage tanks and loading racks rather than burning them in the production process,” the district wrote in its statement. “The company also flared gases related to the shutdown, shutdown and decommissioning of refinery process units. Much of the refinery was shut down and idle during this time, including the gas equipment and associated production heaters.”
The county said it also fined the refinery for improperly venting gases for 2 hours through a flare that was turned off for maintenance; for 3 cases of visible emissions from smoke flares; and for multiple violations related to excessive air pollution emissions, including sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and visual particulate emissions.
The company's delays in making essential repairs also resulted in fines, the district said.
The district said the corporate has since corrected the violations. Efforts to succeed in company representatives were initially unsuccessful.
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