Evergreen Plans To Re-Refine Oil Again

With the goal of restarting operations of oil re-refining by early September, Evergreen Oil Refinery will host a community meeting next Tuesday.

The oil re-refining portion of the plant has been shut down since late March as a result of . 

"Because of the history of problems at the plant, we want our neighbors and the community to know what we have changed, what's different, and what we are going to do to prevent the problems we had in the past," said Evergreen Oil Manager Bob Gwaltney.

Gwaltney and Evergreen's president of operations, George Lamont, will speak at the meeting, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the

City Manager John Becker said the city's chief building inspector has yet to approve the plant's plans to restart a portion of its oil re-refining operations.

Becker added that the plant is only planning to re-open the portion of the oil re-refinery segment that saw minimal damage during the fire.

"They have definitely been working closely with us," Becker said about the plant's management staff. "They seemed optimistic that they will meet all the requirements [by September]."

concluded that oil caught flame after a pipe ruptured. The ensuing fire damaged pumps, wiring and other equipment. 

Evergreen's other operations — oil collection, wastewater treatment and solid waste treatment — weren't affected by the fire and have continued since the incident. 

Last month Cal/OSHA for the fire. Gwaltney said the company planned to appeal citation. The appeal was planned to contest the amount of the fine, Gwaltney has said, and is not an attempt to deflect responsibility.

Since March, multiple agencies have conducted investigations of the Evergreen fire.

City officials have noted that the plant must receive clearances from Cal-OSHA, Alameda County Fire, Alameda County Health, the city's Community Development Department, the city's Engineering Division and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District before re-refining oil can resume.