By Roger Straw, Benicia Independent Editor, 3 December, 2015

City posts new comments – important letter from Fire Chief of West Sacramento

These new letters were posted on the City of Benicia’s Crude by Rail page today.  See link below, along with the index I created.  Alternately, you can go to the Benicia Independent Project Review page.  (See also the LATER UPDATE below, on older letters that are now posted on the City’s website.)

Public Comments October 31 – December 2, 2015

2.1MB, 103 pages, posted on the City’s CBR page under “Additional Public Comments.”  (Index, click here) 

This PDF document includes:

• An important letter from Fire Chief John Heilmann, writing on behalf of the City of West Sacramento (pages 2-10).  The letter strongly endorses the Sacramento Area Council of Governments’ October 30 critique of the RDEIR.
• 86 identical CREDO-generated letters from individuals far and wide (including 3 from Benicians), “Reject Valero’s dangerous oil trains project.”  These 86 can be added to 1976 such letters received previously, for a total of 2,062.  There is WIDESPREAD and growing opposition to Valero’s dangerous and dirty proposal and to oil transport by rail in general.
• 3 identical VALERO-generated letters (2 from Benicians), “I support the Valero Crude by Rail project.

LATER NOTE:  On December 4, 2015, the City of Benicia posted some older comments on Valero’s RDEIR that had previously not been released.  In Part 4 of comments received Oct. 24-30, 2015, the City had listed the names of those who sent identical letters in response to 3 different appeals, but did not actually post each individual letter.  Now the letters are also available:

• Identical Comments – “Protect our communities and deny Valero’s Rail Project” (Centers for Biological Diversity) 149 letters, including 35 from Benicians
• Identical Comments – “Reject Valero’s dangerous oil train project” (CREDO Action) Part 1, 654 letters, including 10 from Benicians
• Identical Comments – “Reject Valero’s dangerous oil train project” (CREDO Action) Part 2, 564 letters, including 8 from Benicians
• Identical Comments – “Reject Valero’s dangerous oil train project” (CREDO Action) Part 3, 697 letters, including 38 from Benicians
• Identical Comments – “I Support the Valero Crude By Rail Project” (VALERO) 133 letters, including 63 Benicians

(Here is the original Part 4, Public Comments October 24- October 30, 2015 Part 4, missing the individual identical letters)