Wednesday, January 14, 2009

More Richmond Council Hearings on Chevron Upgrade

CBS 5, July 16, 2008.

Richmond officials continued holding hearings Wednesday night into a request by Chevron to upgrade a refinery it operates in the city.

Hundreds of people on both sides of the issue jammed into Richmond City Council meetings on both Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

Chevron wants to upgrade its facility by building a new power plant, hydrogen plant and reformer.

Representatives of the oil giant said the improvements would allow the refining of a wider range of oil.

But environmental groups argued the project would allow the company to refine heavier crude oil that would increase pollutants in the area.

The Planning Commission approved a permit for the project last month, but included in its approval about 70 provisions.

Both Chevron and environmental activists appealed that ruling to the city council, though for different reasons.

No comments: