We noted one big discrepancy between the Chronicle report and what Chevron said in its letter. In the letter, Chevron wrote that "when Chevron installed six flow meters to comply with the regulation, we did not recognize the need for a meter on this line and we advised BAAQMD of this issue three years ago and remedied it then." (Emphasis ours).
That was interpreted by many media outlets, and everyone who read it in this newsroom, as a claim by Chevron that it had taken the initiative in telling the air quality district about the pipe. And that contradicted what BAAQMD manager Wayne Kino told both the Chronicle and KQED: He said it was district inspectors who uncovered the issue and brought it to the attention of Chevron.
On Friday, Chevron spokesperson Sean Comey clarified this discrepancy, writing in a comment on this blog that "We did not intend to convey that we initially brought this matter to the attention of BAAQMD." Here’s the rest of what he posted:
I write on behalf of Chevron U.S.A. Inc to clarify an evident misinterpretation of fact in our recent statement responding to the San Francisco Chronicle's flare monitoring article. As we correctly stated, the pipe at issue was part of a safety system installed in 2003 -- prior to BAAMQD's (sic) flare monitoring regulations. In 2009 we advised BAAMQD that we did not recognize the need for a meter on this line and that the resulting by-pass -- properly characterized by BAAMQD as ‘fairly small’ -- was inadvertent.
We did not intend to convey that we initially brought this matter to the attention of BAAMQD. The reported statement by BAAMQD Manager Wayne Kino is absolutely correct in this regard.
BAAQMD personnel working on site at the refinery first identified the problem, then we worked cooperatively with them to gather the necessary information to find out what happened and why and how to take appropriate action to fix it. Thank you for the opportunity to clarify this point.
So...if we interpret this correctly, when Chevron officials wrote to the Chron that "we advised BAAQMD of this issue three years ago," they did not mean that they proactively reported the infraction, as Mr. Comey acknowledges above. The "issue" they "advised BAAQMD" of, as cited in the Chron letter, was the issue of them "not recognizing the need for a meter on this line."
Got it?
We wanted to clarify the clarification with Mr. Comey, but he said Chevron had nothing to add to the posted comment.