Photo above: Rodeo and Crockett from the air, September 2022. Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Not automatically. The Rodeo plant stopped refining crude oil and now makes renewable fuel, but it’s still a big industrial site that can flare, so check the specific home with real data before you decide.
Don’t let a rumor make the call for you. Here’s how to check it yourself.
What is the Rodeo refinery today?
It’s not a crude oil refinery anymore. Phillips 66 says it finished converting the Rodeo site into the Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex in 2024, and that it now processes about 50,000 barrels a day of waste oils, fats, greases and vegetable oils into renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (Phillips 66, Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex page, checked September 24, 2026).
The plant sits at 1380 San Pablo Avenue in Rodeo, the unincorporated town next to Hercules (Contra Costa County, Rodeo Renewed project page, checked September 24, 2026).
How did the conversion get approved?
Slowly, and with a fight. It went through a full county review and a court challenge. The Board of Supervisors approved the project on May 3, 2022. A lawsuit under the state environmental law followed, a judge sent three issues back for more study in July 2023, and the county certified a revised environmental report on January 16, 2024 (Contra Costa County, Rodeo Renewed project page, checked September 24, 2026).
Want the full picture of what was studied? The environmental reports are posted on that county page.
Can it still affect a home in Hercules?
Yes, at times. Any plant this size can have flaring, odors or a power loss. On April 11, 2023, before the conversion was finished, the Rodeo plant flared after what Phillips 66 described as a temporary loss of power, and people saw it from miles away (ABC7 San Francisco, April 11, 2023; Bay Area Air Quality Management District flare cause report for that date). Contra Costa Health’s hazardous materials team monitored the air and said no offsite health impacts had been reported (KTVU FOX 2 and ABC7, April 11, 2023).
Nobody can honestly tell you the risk is zero. We’re not doctors, and we don’t give health advice. If you have health questions, talk to your doctor or Contra Costa Health. What you can do is look at the record yourself before you buy.
How do I check a specific Hercules address?
Three free public tools. Use all three before you write an offer.
- Community Warning System. Contra Costa Health sends free texts, calls and emails about incidents at industrial plants the county regulates. Level 1 alerts cover things like flaring that lasts more than 20 minutes and noticeable odors. You can choose which areas of the county you get alerts for. Sign up at cwsalerts.com or text CCHEALTH to 21423 (Contra Costa Health, Community Warning System page, checked September 24, 2026).
- Air district flare reports. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District posts monthly flare data for the Phillips 66 Rodeo site at baaqmd.gov (checked September 24, 2026). Look at the last 12 months, not one bad day.
- CalEnviroScreen. The state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment maps pollution and environmental data by census tract at oehha.ca.gov/calenviroscreen. The current version, CalEnviroScreen 5.0, came out July 1, 2026 (OEHHA, checked September 24, 2026). Compare the tract for the home you like with the tracts around it.
Then go stand on the street. A weekday morning, an evening, and a day when the wind is coming off the bay. Your own nose and ears are data too.
Will the refinery hurt my resale value?
It can. Some buyers won’t look at anything near industry, so your buyer pool gets smaller. Others care more about price, commute and space. We don’t have a sourced number for how much the plant moves Hercules prices, and we won’t make one up. When we price a home or write an offer, we pull recent sales from that same neighborhood. Those sales already show how buyers there feel.
What should I ask before I buy?
Ask for, and read closely:
- The Natural Hazard Disclosure report for the property.
- Any seller disclosure about odors, noise or nearby industrial use.
- The last 12 months of CWS alerts and air district flare reports for the Rodeo site.
If something in there bugs you, don’t just write off Hercules. Compare the same kind of home a few neighborhoods over and look at the real tradeoff.
Questions people also ask
Is the Rodeo refinery still refining oil?
No. Phillips 66 says it completed converting the Rodeo site from crude oil refining in 2024. It now turns waste oils, fats, greases and vegetable oils into renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, about 50,000 barrels a day, according to the company’s Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex page, checked September 24, 2026. It is still an industrial plant, so flaring and odor events are possible.
How do I get alerts about the Rodeo plant?
Sign up for Contra Costa Health’s Community Warning System at cwsalerts.com, text CCHEALTH to 21423, or call 925-655-0111. It is free. You can get texts, calls or emails, and you can choose which areas of the county you hear about. Level 1 alerts include flaring over 20 minutes and noticeable odors, per the Contra Costa Health CWS page, checked September 24, 2026.
Where can I see flaring history for the Rodeo site?
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District posts monthly flare data by facility at baaqmd.gov, under Research and Data, Flare Data. Choose Phillips 66 Rodeo and look at a full year of months, not a single event. Pair it with the county’s CWS alert history to see how often something actually reached the neighborhoods around it.
Does being near the refinery lower home prices in Hercules?
It can narrow the buyer pool, but we have no sourced figure for how much it changes Hercules prices, so we will not guess. The honest way to see it is to compare recent sales of similar homes in different Hercules neighborhoods. Those sale prices already show how buyers weigh the plant against price, commute and home size.
Your next step
You don’t have to sort this out alone. Send us the address you’re looking at and we’ll put recent sales and the alert history side by side. Ask a Hercules agent on our team or call (510) 949-5525.
More on Hercules: Living in Hercules, CA · Commute from Hercules to San Francisco · Living in Rodeo, CA · What’s my home worth?
By Bill Davis, DRE #01880656, The Davis Team at eXp Realty, Hercules, CA. Updated September 24, 2026.
The Davis Team is a real estate team at eXp Realty of California, Inc., DRE #01878277. Bill Davis, DRE #01880656.
Sources
- Phillips 66, Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex: phillips66.com/rodeo-renewable-energy-complex (checked September 24, 2026)
- Contra Costa County, Phillips 66 Rodeo Renewed Project: contracosta.ca.gov/7945 (checked September 24, 2026)
- Contra Costa Health, Community Warning System: cchealth.org (checked September 24, 2026) and cwsalerts.com
- ABC7 San Francisco and KTVU FOX 2, flaring at the Rodeo refinery, April 11, 2023
- Bay Area Air Quality Management District, flare cause report for April 11, 2023, and Flare Data: baaqmd.gov (checked September 24, 2026)
- California OEHHA, CalEnviroScreen 5.0, released July 1, 2026: oehha.ca.gov/calenviroscreen (checked September 24, 2026)