PBF's Martinez Refining Co. will pay more than $10 million as part of a settlement with the Bay Area Air District and Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office over multiple violations issued against Martinez Refining Co. between February 2020 and late 2024.
The settlement includes resolution of 163 notices of violation issued by the Bay Area Air District, events such as the November 2022 catalyst release that left a "white ash-like" coating over areas near the refinery and instances of coke dust releases in July and October 2023, according to a statement issued by the company and the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office.
MRC will pay additional civil penalties of $6.5 million to the Bay Area Air District, $100,000 to Contra Costa Health Services and $50,000 to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office will receive $3.5 million.
The company will spend an additional $600,000 in mitigation payments to local environmental projects, such as the improvement of air filtration systems at nearby schools and local fish and wildlife resources.
Martinez Refining Co. is also required to install "enhanced emissions monitoring systems" on certain refinery equipment and make changes to the way it operates its catalytic cracking unit during startup and shutdown procedures, the District Attorney's Office said.
"MRC recognizes that we must earn the right to operate in Martinez and that we have a responsibility to be involved in and to give back to the Martinez community," MRC said in a statement Thursday. "We are committed to safe, reliable and environmentally responsible operations and to being actively engaged locally.
The February 2025 fire at the 157,000 b/d Northern California refinery is not included in the settlement.
PBF CEO Matt Lucey said the Martinez refinery will return to full output next month after the company completes repair work following at the facility, OPIS previously reported. The company in January said it would extend repair work on the Martinez plant into February after it pushed back a planned late-2025 restart. The refinery has been running at between 85,000 and 105,000 b/d since the second quarter of 2025.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
Reporting by Bayan Raji, braji@opisnet.com; Editing by Andrew Atwal, aatwal@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 20, 2026 09:48 ET (14:48 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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