Committee Wrangles Over Fate Of $1.5 Million Chevron Settlement

The upgraded El Segundo Refinery will spew out an estimated 38 tons of
volatile organic compounds each year. (Creative Commons)
The Climate Change committee of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) will meet Friday to settle a contentious argument over how best to use $1.5 million from an environmental impact mitigation settlement from Chevron.
The money is supposed to mitigate the environmental impact of an upgrade to Chevron's El Segundo refinery, which is upwind of six schools.
Staff originally proposed to use the funds to plant trees where the Station Fire burned last year. But at the most recent AQMD meeting in January, board member Dr. Joseph Lyou recommended that closer attention be placed on the mandate of the board to mitigate environmental concerns directly for the effected community.
"The solutions need to be real, quantifiable, permanent and verifiable," said Lyou in an interview.
In upgrading its crude oil refinery, Chevron had to evaluate what significant environmental impacts there would be and mitigate that impact through the AQMD, under AB 32. It gave the board $1.5 million to invest in projects that would offset the estimated 38 tons of volatile organic compounds emitted each year.
Planting trees would help offset carbon dioxide emissions, Lyou said, but would fail to address other pollutants emitted by the plant.
Lyou favors outfitting the refineries with white LED lights. In this way, he calculates, the power savings would reduce demand on the two neighboring power plants and in turn reduce pollution in the area.
The Climate Change committee has reviewed this suggestion and will be presenting its findings on Friday.
Jill Whynot, Director of Strategic Initiatives Planning will discuss emissions reductions potential for greenhouse gases and co-pollutants and the cost-effectiveness of LED lighting that Lyou suggested.
She has concluded that LED lighting is not cost-effective and recommends reforestation as the best option.
The El Segundo refinery processes 279,000 barrels of oil per day. It is the largest in California and the 15th largest in the nation.