Santa Maria Asphalt Refinery Community Air Monitoring
Petroleum refineries are among the largest stationary sources of air pollution in California. In recent years, community concerns over emissions from refineries and the potential for community exposure to air contaminants, both from routine facility operations and potential releases due to upset conditions or emergency situations, has increased. Assembly Bill (AB) 1647, passed in 2017, contains requirements for fenceline air monitoring and community air monitoring for refineries operating in California by January 2020. Proposed Rule 364 was developed to address these requirements for refineries in Santa Barbara County. At present, Santa Maria Asphalt Refinery is the only refinery located in Santa Barbara County.
Refinery Community Air Monitoring Data
The Santa Maria Asphalt Refinery is currently nonoperational.
AB 1647
Petroleum refineries are one of the largest stationary sources of air pollution in California. The processes used to produce refined products from crude petroleum result in the emissions of criteria pollutants and toxics air contaminants.
Community concern over emissions from refineries and the potential for community exposure to air contaminants, resulting from refineries’ routine processes and potential releases from upset conditions or emergency situations led to the drafting and approval of AB 1647 in 2017 to help address such concerns. AB 1647 has four main requirements:
- Petroleum refineries must install, operate, and maintain a fence-line air monitoring system;
- Air districts must install, operate, and maintain a refinery-related community air monitoring system;
- Real-time data from both monitoring systems must be accessible to the public and;
- Refineries are responsible for the costs of implementing the requirements of the state mandate.
District Rule 364
District Rule 364 was developed to address the air monitoring requirements of AB 1647, which requires both a real-time fenceline air monitoring system and community air monitoring near petroleum refineries in California. The fenceline monitoring and community air monitoring systems provide the public with additional air quality information about various air pollutants at the refinery and in the community. Rule 364 requires the monitoring of BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene), sulfur dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide.
The fenceline monitoring plan must include information about the installation, operation, and maintenance of the fenceline monitoring system, and provide additional detailed information about the fenceline monitoring system such as siting, data collection, quality assurance, and data reporting methods.
The community air monitoring station is co-located with the District’s Santa Maria monitoring station. The fenceline monitoring and community air monitoring systems provide an additional layer of information that can be used by the refinery operator, emergency response personnel, and the public to assess the potential for public exposure to pollutants from the facility.
Related Links:
For more information about AB 1647:
Bill Text – AB-1647 Petroleum refineries: air monitoring systems. (ca.gov)
For more information about the District’s Air Monitoring Network:
Air Monitoring | Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (ourair.org)
Air Pollution and our Health | Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (ourair.org)
Today’s Air Quality & Forecasts | Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (ourair.org)
