March 3 Letters to the editor
Contra Costa Times
Posted:   03/02/2015

Recently, kudos were given for those responsible for cleaning the Shell oil spill of two barrels of crude oil into the Carquinez Strait along Martinez’s shores. Assurance was given of no impact to the shoreline or to wildlife along the wetlands.

How about the polluting and spills for the last 100 years at Contra Costa County’s Tesoro, Shell and Phillips 66 refineries? Are we assured of no pollution to the shoreline and subsurface soils on these properties? Richmond residents should ask themselves the same questions regarding the Chevron refinery.

Images of fossil-fuel companies abandoning drilling locations in the Americas and Third-World countries exhibit superfund sites of irreclaimable infrastructure and subsurface contamination those countries are struggling to clean up.

Tesoro, Shell and Phillips 66 reside on Contra Costa County soils; within our children’s lifetime, taxpayers will have to pay for clean up of these sites. Has the Board of Supervisors looked into what efforts these refineries have implemented for financing of eventual shutdown, clean-up and remediation so residents aren’t stuck with a bill that will bankrupt the county?

Jim Neu

Neu is a member of Martinez Environmental Group.