Frequently Asked Questions

The Richmond Polluters Pay Initiative can provide the City of Richmond with the resources it needs to clean our water, provide health services, and to start to cover the costs ahead of a transition when the Chevron Refinery closes.

The local Chevron refinery pays nowhere near enough for the impact it has on our community.
Last year alone, Chevron had 315 air quality violations.[1] Richmond children grow up with chronic asthma. They are admitted to the hospital at triple the rate of children across California, and seniors in Richmond suffer from increased rates of asthma, cancer, and other health concerns.

Residents pay for these health impacts, while Chevron made $21.4 billion in profit last year.[2]

We know that after 120 years of operation, the 2,900-acre Chevron Refinery will require enormous cleanup to make the land safe for Richmond residents. While the level of contamination behind the refinery gates is a closely guarded corporate secret, cleanup could range from hundreds of millions to multiple billions of dollars.

One helpful benchmark for estimating these cleanup costs is the PES Refinery in Philadelphia. PES is only half the size of the Chevron Refinery, and has itself received cost estimates in the billions.[3]

We don’t want Richmond on the hook for these kinds of costs — polluters should pay now so Richmond taxpayers won’t be stuck with the bill in the future.

As the head of California’s Division of Petroleum Market Oversight shared in a recent Politico interview: “Price spikes are profit spikes,” for oil and gas companies. Among other factors, corporations set gas prices based on what they think they can charge – and how much they can profit.[4] Chevron’s revenue was $197 billion in 2023, and they are one of the most profitable companies in the world.[5] Gas prices might change, but those changes will be shaped by the choices of fossil fuel executives – not one Richmond-specific tax!

Chevron is one of the largest and most profitable corporations in the U.S. Chevron’s profit margins continue to sail through the roof. In 2023, Chevron delivered a $26M salary to CEO Mike Wirth – a 12.2% boost from 2022. Recently, the corporation paid out $75 Billion to their shareholders. The polluters pay measure will not cause a shutdown, but a more equitable rebalancing of the cash that comes from the harm produced in Richmond.

This initiative could generate between $60 – 90 million per fiscal year.[6] The initiative has no impact on any other payment by Chevron to the City.

Air pollution-related diseases including chronic asthma, cancer, and heart disease are all serious health concerns for Richmond residents.[7] Richmond children living in the same zip code as the Chevron Refinery grow up with chronic asthma and are admitted to the hospital for emergency asthma care at triple the rate of children across California.[8]

Richmond residents experience particularly high cancer and respiratory risks associated with toxic industrial releases from polluters like the Chevron Refinery.[9]

Residents living close to the refinery experience higher rates of cardiovascular disease than the California average,[10] and disproportionately higher risk of cancer than other neighborhoods in Richmond.[11] Residents who live close to the Chevron Refinery have asthma rates higher than 97 to 99% of other California residents.[12] Young children, pregnant people, and Richmond’s elders – both long-time residents and newly arrived retirees – are particularly vulnerable to these negative health impacts.[13]

The economic burden of the oil and gas industry are particularly heavy for the City of Richmond and the East Bay region, where major oil refining operations like the Chevron Refinery have existed for decades. For example, the healthcare costs associated with oil refining in Contra Costa County are estimated to be between $72 Million and $140 Million each year.[14]

The healthcare costs due to the Chevron Refinery’s PM 2.5 emissions alone – not taking into account other major pollutant emissions – are estimated between $39 million and $89 million each year.[15]

At the local level, Richmond also bears serious healthcare costs due to local oil refining activity. However, the cost of climate change does not just appear as direct healthcare costs. For example, the City of Richmond will require at least $150 Million for bare-minimum adaptations to sea-level rise by 2040.[16]

Contra Costa County is expected to need $1 Billion in infrastructure investments to adapt to sea-level rise and improve flood mitigation by 2040.[17]

  1. BAAQMD. “Notices of Violation Issued,” n.d. https://www.baaqmd.gov/rules-and-compliance/compliance-assistance/notices-of-violations/novs-issued
  2. “Chevron Corporation 2023 Annual Report,” n.d. https://www.chevron.com/-/media/chevron/annual-report/2023/documents/2023-Annual-Report.pdf, page 34.
  3. Kearney, Laila, and Valerie Volcovici. “150 Years of Spills: Philadelphia Refinery Cleanup Highlights Toxic Legacy of Fossil Fuels.” Reuters, February 16, 2021. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN2AG12N/#:~:text=%22These%20cleanups%20are%20just%20enormously,it%20is%20%22fully%20funded%22.
  4. Venteicher, Wes. “Five Questions for California’s Oil Czar.” Politico, April 12, 2024. https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-climate/2024/04/12/five-questions-for-californias-oil-czar-00152091?nname=california-climate&nid=00000189-315c-d8dd-a1ed-797dc9f10000&nrid=9e54afef-9446-44e4-85dd-3fe5002beb38&nlid=2745178.
  5. “Chevron Corporation 2023 Annual Report,” n.d. https://www.chevron.com/-/media/chevron/annual-report/2023/documents/2023-Annual-Report.pdf, page XVII.
  6. Over the last seven years, the Refinery refined the least feedstock in 2022 (daily average of 167,000 barrels over the course of the year, which when multiplied by 365 is just above 60 million) and the most in 2018 (249,000 barrels per day average, multiplied by 365 for just over 90 million); for reference, 2017 was 248,000, 2018 was 249,000, 2019 was 236,000, 2020 was 198,000, 2021 was 211,000, 2022 was 167,000, and 2023 was 225,000. See Form 10-K, Chevron Corporation, February 26, 2024, https://www.sec.gov/ixviewer/ix.html?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0000093410/000009341024000013/cvx-20231231.htm (covering 2023); Form 10-K, Chevron Corporation, February 23, 2023, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/93410/000009341023000009/cvx-20221231.htm (covering 2020-2022);  Form 10-K, Chevron Corporation, February 21, 2020,https://www.sec.gov/ixviewer/ix.html?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0000093410/000009341020000010/cvx12312019-10kdoc.htm, (covering 2017-2019).
  7. Lopez, Andrea, Alison Cohen, Ami Zota, and Rachel Morello-Frosch. “Richmond Health Survey Report.” Communities for a Better Environment, June 2009. https://www.cbecal.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Richmond-Health-Survey.pdf, page 14.
  8. Green, Miranda, and David Folkenflik. “Chevron Owns This City’s News Cite. Many Stories Aren’t Told.” NPR, March 28, 2024. https://www.npr.org/2024/03/28/1239650727/chevron-fossil-fuel-richmond-standard-california-news.
  9. Brody, Julia Green, Rachel Morello-Frosch, Ami Zota, Phil Brown, Carla Pérez, and Ruthann A. Rudel. “Linking Exposure Assessment Science With Policy Objectives for Environmental Justice and Breast Cancer Advocacy: The Northern California Household Exposure Study.” Am J Public Health 99, no. 3 (n.d.): S600–609.
  10. According to CalEnviroScreen 4.0, the Iron Triangle is in the 80th percentile for cardiovascular disease, meaning that Iron Triangle residents experience higher rates of cardiovascular disease than 80% of Californians. See  https://oehha.ca.gov/calenviroscreen/maps-data
  11. “Path to Clean Air Community Emissions Reduction Plan,” December 2023. https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/richmond/richmond-ptca-cerp-plan/final-draft-plan_december2023_v2-pdf.pdf?rev=18f908c0da024baeadc8a23c7e84a08e, page 52.
  12. “CalEnviroScreen 4.0 Indicator Maps: Asthma.” n.d. https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/ed5953d89038431dbf4f22ab9abfe40d/page/Indicators/?views=Asthma#data_s=id%3AdataSource_33-17c3d380fd6-layer-3%3A4419.
  13. “Path to Clean Air Community Emissions Reduction Plan,” December 2023. https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/richmond/richmond-ptca-cerp-plan/final-draft-plan_december2023_v2-pdf.pdf?rev=18f908c0da024baeadc8a23c7e84a08e, page 111; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Chronic Exposure to Air Pollution May Increase Risk of Cardiovascular Hospitalization among Seniors.” February 21, 2024. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/chronic-exposure-to-air-pollution-may-increase-risk-of-cardiovascular-hospitalization-among-seniors/#:~:text=Boston%2C%20MA%E2%80%94Chronic%20exposure%20to,Chan%20School%20of%20Public%20Health.
  14. These estimates were calculated using U.S.-EPA’s online Co-Benefits Risk Assessment (COBRA) tool. We ran a simulation where 100% of PM 2.5, NOx, SOx, and VOC emissions resulting from “Petroleum Refining and Related Industries” disappeared to estimate the costs associated with existing, baseline emissions in Contra Costa County. We used U.S.-EPA’s suggested 2% discount rate to estimate current costs. See U.S. EPA. “COBRA Web Edition,” n.d. CO-Benefits Risk Assessment Health Impacts Screening and Mapping Tool (COBRA).
  15. These costs were estimated based on comparing two data sets. The first, The Costs of Inaction: The Economic Burden of Fossil Fuels and Climate Change report, which estimates premature deaths occurred each year nationwide due to PM2.5 exposure and precursors. The second data set, BAAQMD “Modeling Fine Particulate Matter Emissions from the Chevron Richmond Refinery: An Air Quality Health Impact Analysis.” San Francisco, 2021. https://bit.ly/BAAQMDmodelingPM, page 2.
  16. Pay Up Climate Polluters: Climate Costs in 2040. “Make Big Oil Pay Their Faire Share: Richmond in 2040,” n.d. https://www.climatecosts2040.org/make-big-oil-pay/california-richmond.
  17. Center for Climate Integrity. “Climate Costs in 2040: California,” n.d. https://climatecosts2040.org/files/state/CA.pdf, page 1.
View Page in Spanish

Website Photos Courtesy of: Eber Bravo & Pablo Unzueta

Paid for by Polluters Pay sponsored by Asian Pacific Environmental Network Action and Service Employees International Union Local 1021
Ad Committee’s Top Funder: Asian Pacific Environmental Network Action