Valero Refining Co. and Amports Inc. are releasing petroleum coke, also known as petcoke, from a port into northern California waters without a valid permit, an environmental group told a federal court in the state.
Amports doesn’t have a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit that allows releases of petcoke into the Carquinez Strait at the Port of Benicia, the lawsuit says. Valero has an individual NPDES permit, the lawsuit says, but the permit doesn’t cover the direct release of petcoke into the strait or releases of petcoke in storm water.
The companies’ actions violate the Clean Water Act and ...