The Benicia Independent is in receipt of a very important letter sent to the City of Benicia Planning Commission on February 8, 2016 by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD).

Commissioner Steve Young read from the letter at Monday’s Planning Commission meeting. City staff posted this important letter online yesterday, but located it on page 26 of a 256-page, 14 MB document of public comments received after the release of the FEIR (Jan. 28 – Feb. 8).  The letter is available as a standalone PDF document here on the Benicia Independent.

The letter states that the Final EIR is inadequate, and gives examples of air quality mitigations that do not conflict with federal preemption.

The letter goes on to point out that air quality studies in the FEIR rely on inaccurate and outdated risk analyses.

The BAAQMD offers in the letter (again) to assist Benicia and Valero in developing and implementing appropriate mitigation measures.