Polluters Pay Initiative Will Tax Refinery
In June, the Richmond City Council unanimously voted to put a refinery tax—known as the Polluters Pay Initiative—on the November ballot. This initiative is the result of grassroots organizing by Communities for a Better Environment and Asian-Pacific Environmental Network Action.
And it’s something to celebrate! The excise tax, once approved by the voters, will be levied on the raw material coming into Chevron’s refinery. Tax revenues will go into the city’s general fund and pay for essential services like public health access.
For the year 2023, Chevron reported a net income of 21.37 billion dollars—in other words, 21,370 million dollars in profits. That’s a good number to keep in mind when considering that the excise tax could cost the company 60 to 90 million dollars each year, depending on how much raw material they refine.
Refinery Pollution Harms Our Health and the Environment
Then, consider the vast health harms that Chevron has brought down on the people of Richmond by polluting their air, water, and land. The Public Health Advocate reports: “According to the California government, some adverse health effects of living near a refinery include: increased risk of asthma, cancers, birth defects, neurological damage, cardiovascular damage, difficulty breathing, and blood disorders.”
Children living near the Chevron Richmond Refinery are admitted for emergency asthma treatment three times more often than the average rate for California’s children.
Then there’s the environmental damage. Richmond taxpayers are concerned about the cost of cleaning up the land and water after Chevron’s eventual departure from their town. They want the oil company to pay their fair share.
Chevron Fights Back---Don't Let Them Off the Hook
A new nonprofit named Coalition for Richmond’s Future has brought a lawsuit against the ballot initiative, claiming that the language is “false, misleading and biased.”
They object to the initiative’s mention of what the tax revenues could be used for: city services “such as clean air and water treatment, roads, parks, fire and emergency response, toxic land cleanup, and improving community health and youth services, and for general government use.” They’re asking the court to prohibit this language from appearing on any ballot.
With this lawsuit, Chevron and its defenders are doing their best to avoid paying for the health and environmental damage it’s done over the years. But the people of Richmond are not going to let Chevron off the hook any longer. They’re going to make this polluter pay!
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Author: Editorial Team
Image Credit: Ava Jackson
