Repeated Pollution Violations Result in $2.38 Million in Mitigation Payments
Oakland, CA—Valero oil refinery and Amports, a shipping company operating at the Port of Benicia, reached an agreement with San Francisco Baykeeper over allegations that the companies had been dumping toxic petroleum coke (petcoke) from the Valero refinery into the Bay. Petcoke is an oil refinery waste product that may contain copper, zinc, nickel, arsenic, mercury, and vanadium, which the US EPA classifies as pollutants and regulates under the Clean Water Act.
Baykeeper discovered the polluting activity when a concerned resident contacted the nonprofit via their public pollution hotline. Baykeeper’s investigations staff used drones to document numerous instances of the companies discharging petcoke directly into the Bay during cargo ship loading events between November 2020 and October 2021. The drone footage captured black plumes of petcoke in the water around the ships during and after loading and cleaning. Baykeeper also documented clouds of petcoke dust rising off the port’s conveyor belts, fouling the air and potentially drifting into the Bay and nearby neighborhoods.
“Thanks to tips from the public, we were able to catch these polluters red-handed. Valero and Amports couldn’t deny their conduct when our drone imagery was so damning,” said Baykeeper executive director Sejal Choksi-Chugh. “No company has the right to pollute—and we’re here on behalf of the Bay’s wildlife and people to make sure they stop.”
Valero and Amports agreed to pay $2.38 million to mitigate the environmental damage their activities have caused. The companies also agreed to adopt an extensive suite of measures to improve operations at the port facility, including robust site cleaning and maintenance, investing in new equipment to reduce spills and tamp down dust, and to video record loading operations. Maintenance records, shipping schedules, videos, and other pertinent data will be shared with Baykeeper, who will monitor compliance with the agreement for three years.
The $2.38 million environmental mitigation payment will be managed by the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment, which will fund nonprofit projects that benefit the health of the San Francisco Bay-Delta watershed. None of the environmental mitigation funds will go to Baykeeper. With this latest settlement, Baykeeper has directed nearly $15 million to local foundations and nonprofits, all of which has supported hundreds of projects to restore the Bay and its watershed.
“This settlement is a huge win for the Bay Area,” said Jodene Isaacs, Director of Grantmaking at the Rose Foundation. “Baykeeper has compelled two major polluters to clean up their acts and the settlement will result in local grassroots nonprofits getting a big boost to conduct shoreline cleanups, wetlands restoration, and environmental education programs. That means the Bay, its wildlife, and residents will be better protected in the future.”
The Port of Benicia is located in a community historically exposed to pollution, and is near a fishing pier, a point of public access to the Bay, and an area that is home to a variety of wildlife. The heavy metals found in petcoke are known to be harmful to fish and birds. Petcoke dust is also found to have irreversible respiratory effects in humans, and exposure to the pollutants in petcoke are known to cause severe health problems like asthma, lung cancer, and heart disease.
Petcoke has been deemed “too dirty” to burn for fuel in the United States. Valero’s petcoke is loaded onto ships in the Port of Benicia and exported mostly to Asia and Africa, where it is burned for fuel. When burned, petcoke is a significant climate pollutant that is considered to be dirtier and more carbon-emitting than coal.
Baykeeper’s lawsuit alleged violations of the Clean Water Act, as well as state laws designed to prevent pollutants from entering California waters. Baykeeper was represented in the lawsuit by the San Francisco–based law firm Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger. The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of California, and the consent decree was signed by Judge William Orrick on October 7, 2024. It will remain in effect for three years.
“This is an important case for holding Bay Area corporations accountable for their polluting activities,” said attorney Robert “Perl” Perlmutter of Shute Mihaly & Weinberger. “The Clean Water Act often plays a critical role in protecting San Francisco Bay when groups like Baykeeper are out there gathering evidence and enforcing the law.”
Below: Baykeeper drone video and still images of Valero and Amports spilling petcoke into the Bay at the Port of Benicia. Please credit SF Baykeeper.

