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The Big West of California refinery leaked a small amount of ammonia early Sunday that sounded an alarm in which a recorded voice told people to evacuate the area.

Emergency crews responded and no one was injured.

The alarm was meant to alert refinery personnel but was heard by an off-duty Bakersfield Police lieutenant at his home near Truxtun Avenue Extension and Coffee Road, according to police. Refinery personnel also heard the alarm and notified emergency responders shortly after it went off around 12:15 a.m. Sunday.

Refinery Health, Safety and Environment director Bill Chadick said the leak was very small and caused by a faulty valve on an ammonia storage tank.

Chadick did not know the quantity of ammonia released from the tank but said no one was injured or impacted in the incident.

“We have alarms in the ammonia area that are set to go off whenever they get even the slightest whiff of ammonia,” Chadick said. “The alarm went off and that's exactly what it's supposed to do.”

While ammonia diluted with water is typical for household uses, anhydrous ammonia -- which contains no water -- can be hazardous in the event of a sizable leak. Because the chemical has an extremely low boiling point, it will instantly vaporize, creating a cloud that can travel downwind. Exposure results in severe chemical burns.

The chemical is commonly used in industry and small leaks have occurred in Kern County on occasion, said county Environmental Health Services Director Matt Constantine, whose office continues to investigate the Big West leak.

"We  want to clearly understand why they had the release and is there some preventative maintenance that should have been performed," Constantine said.

At least 50 cars have reportedly been damaged by a bad batch of  gas produced at a local refinery and delivered to 25 Kern County gas stations in late March.

The county Department of Agriculture and Measurements says the gas contained a sediment that's plugging fuel filters and damaging fuel pumps. Anyone experiencing those problems should contact the department at 868-6300.

John Jacobsen of John's Independent Honda & Acura repair shop in Bakersfield said a woman  brought in a 1991 Acura Integra Monday afternoon affected by the tainted fuel.

"Basically, the car doesn't want to run,"  said Jacobsen, who's  draining the gas tank and  pulling out the car's fuel system to survey the damage today.

In newer model cars with fuel injection systems, the sediment may plug the injectors, he said.

Kern Oil & Refining Company, a small refinery southeast of Bakersfield, supplied the gasoline and is reimbursing affected car owners for the repairs. The gas was believed to have been tainted when the refinery's filtration system unknowingly malfunctioned, according to county officials.

In addition to the affected Kern fueling stations, another 15 stations in six other counties also received the tainted gas.

Has anyone been affected by this?

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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger praised today's Tejon Ranch announcement as an example of how developers and environmentalists can come together and find solutions.

"When forward-thinking people, like the people that are standing here with me today, are willing to sit down and make something positive happen ... all battle lines can be terminated," Schwarzenegger said.

(Get it? Terminated. Ha ha.)

But everything is not so rosy.

The confidential meetings that resulted in the deal between Tejon Ranch and Sierra Club and other environmental groups has caused a split among the local Sierra Club members. The dissenters are upset that they -- some of whom live nearby and could  feel the impacts of Tejon's proposed developments --  weren't consulted on the secret meetings.

Others say the preservation deal isn't as great as it sounds. Most of the land being preserved was too rugged to be developed, anyway, and now someone has to pay for 60,000 acres of it.

Still, agreeing not to develop 90 percent of its land sounds like a pretty big concession on Tejon's part.

What do you think: was  this a win-win or a lopsided deal?