I apologize for the length of this week message but given what we’ve been hearing for the last several months, I felt it was important for us to be clear about the work the City has been involved in for several years to improve our ability to keep our community safe in regards to air monitoring and air quality. 

For many years, Benicia emergency officials had few options to provide emergency notifications to the community. Then, in 2001, the Benicia Fire Department installed seven large sirens strategically placed throughout the community. When emergency officials needed to communicate critical information, the sirens were activated, and residents would tune in to an AM radio station or local TV broadcast for instructions. The system was a big improvement, but it was not without its challenges. The siren technology was designed around the time of World War II, before houses became as insulated and thus more soundproof. As a result, not all residents were able to hear the sirens from inside their homes. There were also complications with updating the radio and TV broadcasts. In addition, the system experienced ongoing power failure issues. Finally, the sirens did not provide specific information to residents out in the community away from TVs or radios.

In 2016, the Benicia Fire Department partnered with Everbridge, a mass notification and incident communications software, to create AlertBenicia. AlertBenicia allowed anyone living or working in Benicia to register for emergency alerts via mobile phone, land line phone, SMS text, email, the Everbridge app, or TTY / TTD devices. The system was also capable of sending Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) during significant events. WEA messages are sent to all mobile devices in a geographical area regardless of whether the device has been registered with AlertBenicia. Unlike the siren system, AlertBenicia enabled emergency officials to send detailed messages and instructions to targeted areas.

While Benicia Fire Department staff originally attempted to make the Everbridge alerts a countywide program, Solano County and other cities in the county chose not to participate. Instead, a Benicia-only AlertBenicia system launched in September 2016 with a robust public outreach campaign and was utilized for multiple incidents. Then, in 2018, after a relatively destructive fire season, Solano County adopted Benicia’s Everbridge system. In June 2018, AlertBenicia transitioned to AlertSolano and began serving all of Solano County. Currently, there over 20,000 contacts who receive AlertSolano notifications for incidents in Benicia.

Emergency Managers strive to maintain a balance between keeping the public informed without overwhelming them with too many notifications. Most citizens want to know if there is a situation that could impact their safety. Others want to be informed about every incident, regardless of whether it constitutes a threat to public safety. This approach is risky as it can obscure important notifications within a mass of less-relevant messaging. Historically, the Benicia Fire Department had performed a risk analysis of each situation and issued community alerts only for situations that pose a threat to public safety. Recently, some members of the community requested alerts for all situations, regardless of Fire Department staff’s risk analysis of the situation. Thus, in 2021, the Fire Department established an additional notification system for non-emergency incidents such as routine or anticipated refinery flaring. The public can sign up for these notifications by visiting the City’s Public Information Bank website, https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/publicinfobank. They can sign up to receive email or text updates via the Non-Emergency Notifications online form.

In addition to the notification platforms mentioned above, the City has increased its social media presence over the last several years as social media became more prevalent. Social media has been a successful way to interact with the public about both emergency and non-emergency information. It’s also a useful alternative to reach residents who have not registered for AlertSolano or other forms of communication.

Access to air monitoring data for Benicia residents has vastly improved over the last five years. As recently as 2018, the citizens of Benicia had limited access to high-quality, real-time air monitoring data. Although there were numerous air monitors throughout the Valero Benicia Refinery, the citizens of Benicia had no real-time access to these measurements. The data from these monitors was used by Valero and various regulatory agencies to monitor emissions and releases. Following submission to these agencies, some of the data would become publicly available in historical emissions reports. Many community members requested real time measurements of refinery-specific compounds that would be available on a public website.

One of the improvements to the network of air monitors started with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s (BAAQMD) Regulation 12, Rule 15. Among other components, Regulation 12, Rule 15 required Bay Area refineries to implement fence line air monitoring programs. Valero installed BAAQMD-approved fence line air monitors by the end of 2018. Valero also incorporated data from three pre-existing ground level monitors and developed a public website, https://www.beniciarefineryairmonitors.org/, with live data from the fence line and ground level monitors. This website is currently active and provides real time data.

Two improvements to this fence line system are happening soon. The first is the addition of Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) monitoring in the open path monitors. Currently, Hydrogen Sulfide is only reported from 3 ground level sites. The City has been informed that, because of advancements of new technology, H2S in the open path fence line system is now possible at the detection levels required by BAAQMD. The second improvement is the addition of a new monitoring path across the Northwest section of the fence line. Valero was planning to build this system following BAAQMD’s approval of the new open path H2S technology. BAAQMD appears to have recently approved the open path H2S technology, so the City will begin working with Valero to construct this additional pathway across the northwest fence line.

In March of 2019, as part of the Second Amendment of the Valero/Good Neighbor Steering Committee Agreement, Valero agreed to provide $460,000 for the operation and management of the Benicia Community Air Monitoring Program (BCAMP). Per the agreement, BCAMP was to secure an independently contracted air monitoring company to manage raw data collection, analyze data, maintain air monitoring equipment, and provide related services, including operation of an educational public website that presents data collected and provides related information about public health guidelines as related to ambient air quality. On Thursday, March 3, 2022, BCAMP invited the public to an unveiling webinar to showcase their new system. It is truly amazing what this organization has done and, as was mentioned in the webinar, this may be one of the most comprehensive and technically advanced air monitoring stations in the area. The array of monitors that comprise the BCAMP system measure a vast array of compounds found in urban air and is now available for public review in real time at www.fenceline.org/bcamp/.

In addition to the newly accessible Valero fence line and ground level monitors and the BCAMP Air Monitors, the Benicia Fire Department now deploys multiple highly sensitive portable gas and vapor detection monitors. Valero donated six portable air monitors (two (2) ChemPro100i handheld gas and vapor detectors, two (2) PpbRae 3000 air monitors, and two Aerocet 831 particulate matter air monitors) to the City of Benicia Fire Department as a component of the 2019 City of Benicia – Valero Cooperation Agreement. The portable air monitors are utilized during routine odor complaints, generalized air quality concerns, and emergency response to various hazardous materials incidents. Fire Department staff have been trained to evaluate readings to make science-based determinations of potential threats to the community.

Finally, at the March 1, 2022 Benicia City Council meeting, Council approved an agreement with the BAAQMD with will enable the district to install a community air monitoring station at 900 East Second Street in Benicia. The Fire Chief will provide more information as it becomes available.

Thank you for your interest in the City of Benicia This Week!