For Immediate Release
June 5, 2026
Contact:
Blake@sunstonestrategies.com, 310-894-6690
Phillips 66 Carson Refinery Site Remediation Estimated at Nearly $1 Billion
New report reveals Carson community at risk of shouldering millions in cleanup costs
Carson, Calif. — A new report from the Asian Pacific Environmental Network puts the cost of cleanup and remediation at the Phillips 66 refinery in Carson at up to $910 million — with no clear plan for who will pay. Advocates say SB 1259 (Blakespeare), the Refinery Transparency Act, would help protect communities from being blindsided by cleanup costs when refineries close.
The Phillips 66 Los Angeles refinery closed its doors at the end of 2025, leaving behind 100 years worth of contamination that could take an estimated 30-40 years to remediate.
“When refineries close in California, they do not give communities like Carson comprehensive plans, timelines, or cost estimates for how to clean-up the mess they’ve left behind. Californians need transparent disclosures so that local communities can plan for the future, and to help make sure that taxpayers are not left paying the clean-up bill.”– Katherine Chu, Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN)
Key findings from the report include:
- Cleanup at the Carson site could cost up to $910 million, based on EPA cleanup benchmarks, California remediation guidance, and comparable refinery cleanup cases.
- Phillips 66 has publicly disclosed only $357 million in estimated decommissioning costs, with an even smaller share – roughly $129 million based on acreage – likely for the Carson refinery site. This leaves a potential funding gap of up to $781 million for the Carson site alone.
- If Phillips 66 doesn’t cover the entire cost of cleanup and remediation, California taxpayers and the City of Carson could be on the hook.
The report shows similar cases of frontline communities being forced to foot the cost of gas and oil site cleanup, including Carson’s previous Shell Carousel tract where improper cleanup of the former 50-acre tank farm resulted in over $300 million of legal and remediation settlements. The estimates in the report cover the Carson refinery site alone – cleanup costs for both the Carson and Wilmington sites would be far higher.
To schedule an interview with the report author or speak to a Carson community member, contact Blake Marquez, Blake@sunstonestrategies.com, 310-897-6690.
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