RODEO, CA — The tar sands expansion proposal at Phillips 66’s San Francisco Refinery in Rodeo would impact local health and the climate by increasing refinery emissions and worsening air quality for nearby communities, while also increasing tanker traffic and the risk of a devastating oil spill in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Local environmental and community groups hosted a town hall on Thursday evening, March 7, in Rodeo to discuss the risks of the proposal to bring in more oil tankers and process more heavy crude oil like tar sands. A video of the event is at facebook.com/standearth.
“Many of our First Nations relatives in Canada are doing all they can to resist the Trans Mountain Pipeline, which would allow the transport of tar sands through our Bay via over 120 tankers. This type of oil cannot be completely cleaned from water. What are we willing to lose?” – Pennie Opal Plant, Idle No More SF Bay
“The refinery’s latest plan to expand dilbit imports, cracking of that bitumen, and recovery of those diluent oils threatens to lock in a worst-case future for our climate, air, health, safety, and Bay. People have a right to know about this unnecessary threat.” – Greg Karras, Communities for a Better Environment