Hesperian In May, Hesperian and the Peoples Health Movement pulled together a meeting among people from Bhopal, India touring the US as part of the Bhopal Survivors Tour and anti-toxics organizers in Richmond, California, where Chevron runs the largest refinery on the west coast of the US (see our earlier blog). The organizers shared stories of trying to hold large corporations responsible for their destruction of peoples health through toxic pollution. One of the situations discussed was the campaign to stop Chevron from sneaking an expansion of its Richmond facility (refining very “dirty” oil) past an environmental hurdle by calling it a minor change in sourcing. The courts recently ruled in favor of the activists and we congratulate our colleagues at the Asia Pacific Environmental Network (APEN), the Laotian Organizing Project, Communities for a Better Environment, and West County Toxics Coalition on this victory!
Here’s the story of the ruling sent out by APEN:
Great news! On June 5, Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Barbara Zuniga tossed out the flawed Environmental Impact Report for the planned Richmond Chevron Refinery expansion. APEN community leaders are celebrating the judge’s ruling as another win towards environmental justice for Richmond communities.
“The decision is a victory for the community,” said Koy Seng Saechao, leader with APEN’s Laotian Organizing Project. “We need green and healthy solutions from Chevron and our City, not more pollution. The decision protects my family and neighbors from even more pollution and allows us to plan for a healthier future.”
APEN, Earthjustice, Communities for a Better Environment and West County Toxics Coaltion joined forces to sue the City of Richmond for accepting the faulty environmental review that failed to disclose that the proposed expansion would allow Chevron to process a heavier crude oil, exposing the community to increased health and environmental impacts.
In her decision, Judge Zuniga said: “The [Final Environmental Impact Report] project description is unclear and inconsistent as to whether [the] project will or will not enable Chevron to process a heavier crude slate than it is currently processing.”
The court also agrees that the City of Richmond improperly allowed Chevron to wait a year after the EIR process was completed before developing a plan to mitigate its greenhouse gases, a move that would have shut our communities out of a public process to stop additional greenhouse gas pollution. This is one of the first decisions addressing the deferral of greenhouse gas mitigations under the California Environmental Quality Act.
”We are fighting to shift Richmond from a hub for pollution to a hub for solutions. Climate change will already impact our communities first and worst,” said Torm Nompraseurt, APEN community organizer and 33-year Richmond resident. This is a chance to turn the fossil fuel tide around, to put our community’s health before oil profits, and create a new vision for Richmond.”
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