Santa Maria Refinery - Greka Energy

Greka Energy runs one of two oil refineries in Santa Maria, California. This plant was built in 1935, so it was immune to the zoning laws that were established in 1958. Over the years the refinery was owned by several different companies, and by 1993 then owner ConocoPhillips closed the facility. A year later the refinery was purchased by the Saba Petroleum Company, and by 1996 it was fully operational. Before long it was sold again, this time to Greka Energy, and they still run the plant. Current production rests at 9,500 barrels of crude oil each day.

In 2000, officials from Greka Energy met with members of the Systems Safety and Reliability Review Committee (SSRRC) to review the facility and perform a rigorous safety audit. Several problems were detected and listed, including equipment that was in need of repairs, hazardous waste that was not being stored in a safe manner, an inadequate number of plant employees and other serious issues. When the audit was finished, the SSRRC had supplied Greka Energy with a list of mandatory changes and upgrades to be completed, all of which would be inspected and audited again at a later date. By 2005 much of the work had been accomplished, and Greka Energy was given the approval to install a new wastewater treatment system that would eliminate hazardous wastewater at the plant.

The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District also investigated the refinery beginning in 1998. They found high levels of dangerous toxins such as benzene and hydrogen sulfide were present. Their results indicated that the refinery posed a significant risk to employees and local residents for the development of cancer and serious respiratory issues. In response, the plant owners were forced to take steps to reduce the amount of airborne toxins produced at the facility. Improvements on the methods used to store and process oil, as well as emission control devices were established to bring the plant up to code. Following the upgrades, Greka Energy turned in the results of a new audit to determine if the facility was now up to proper health codes.

A mandatory shut down stopped all work at the plant in 2004 when emergency crews detected several leaks in plant equipment that were allowing hazardous chemicals to discharge into the air. These chemicals created a strong odor that caught the attention of local residents, causing them to call in several complaints directed at the refinery. Many of the citizens who were affected by this situation banded together, and began a civil lawsuit against Greka. The number of defendants continued to grow as more people joined the lawsuit following further toxic emissions and oil spills. It took until 2008 for the case to be settled, and Greka was ordered to pay a sum of $5 million in damages. They were also forced to stop operations at three separate refining facility locations in the Santa Maria area.

Plant owners ran into more trouble in 2007 when they were found guilty of violating the Safe Drinking Water Act. Greka Energy was charged with dumping oil into wells instead of properly disposing of it. The Environmental Protection (EPA) filed a lawsuit against the company, and they were given a $1 million fine. Of that money, $500,000 was sent to benefit the Los Padres National Forest Restoration Project, $15,500 was paid to the EPA as a penalty for providing incorrect information about the amount of pollution the plant produces and the rest was disbursed for other purposes.

Greka's Santa Maria refinery continues to deal with serious issues in the forms of high levels of pollution and oil spills, but there were health concerns at the facility long before, while it was under the control of previous owners. One of the biggest problems came from a variety of on site products that were made out of asbestos. These products were used in many industrial settings before they were found to be toxic. It was discovered that asbestos can damage the respiratory system and lead to a cancerous disease called mesothelioma cancer. These conditions can be deadly, and anyone who worked at the plant while asbestos was in use is urged to notify their doctor and schedule an appointment for a check up.

Last modified: December 09 2009.