DEIR, Take Action, Valero Crude By Rail

Three Benicia Workshops on How to Read and Respond to a Draft EIR

BENICIA NEWS

In the next few days, there will be THREE opportunities to learn more about how to read and respond to a Draft EIR (Environmental Impact Report).

  1. Workshop on How to Respond to Valero’s Draft Environmental Impact Report  (DEIR), This Saturday, June 28, 1-4pm, Benicia Public Library –  Sponsored by Benicians For a Safe and Healthy Community.  Learn about the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and the procedures governing review of Valero’s proposal, including how you can comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR).  Instruction, brainstorming, and organizing our responses.  Refreshments included!  Bring a friend.
  2. Next Monday, 6/30, 5:30pm, Ironworkers Hall, 3120 Bayshore Road, Benicia, sponsored by Valero.
  3. Also on Monday, 6/30, 7pm, City Hall Council Chambers, 250 East L Street, Benicia, sponsored by City of Benicia staff at the request of the Benicia Planning Commission.

NOTE: If you can’t make one of these workshops, you are still encouraged to make your views known.  Commenting on the DEIR can be as hard or easy as you make it.  If you have something to say to the City of Benicia now, please send an email today.   Send your comments to:

    • Amy Million, Principal Planner, Community Development Department, by email: amillion@ci.benicia.ca.us.  AND
    • Brad Kilger, City Manager, by email: bkilger@ci.benicia.ca.us
      Amy and Brad may also be contacted by delivery to 250 East L Street, Benicia, CA 94510, or by Fax: (707) 747-1637.
    • Benicia Planning Commissioners, send via email to Amy Million, requesting her to forward on to Planning Commissioners.
California Regulation, Crude By Rail, Disclosure of tank car contents, Hazardous cargo transparency, Hazmat notification

Senator Wolk wants more timely disclosure of crude-by-rail information

PRESS RELEASE – CALIFORNIA SENATOR LOIS WOLK
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 25, 2014, Contact: Melissa Jones

Senator responds to delayed release of report on crude-by-rail shipment

Wolk urges timely disclosure to state, communities to aid planning and response

SACRAMENTO—State Senator Lois Wolk (D-Davis) pressed for timely disclosure of crude oil shipments by railroad shipping companies, following today’s release by the State Office of Emergency Services of a report disclosing a shipment of 1 million gallons or more crude oil through Northern California by BNSF Railway, the largest crude-by-rail transporter, earlier this month.

BNSF’s June 13th disclosure of an earlier shipment followed an order last month by the U.S. Department of Transportation that railroads must begin sharing information about large shipments of crude oil with state and local officials. The federal order denied longstanding claims by railroads that this information should remain confidential, claiming the information includes “proprietary and confidential trade” secrets and poses security concerns.

“While I applaud the Office of Emergency Services’ release of BNSF Railway’s after-the-fact disclosure of a crude-by-rail shipment through nine Northern California counties earlier this month, what the public wants and what local responders need is information regarding future shipments of crude oil by rail, in order to better prepare any necessary response in the event of any potential accident or mishap with this hazardous cargo,” said Wolk. “I call on the federal and state government to require railroads to provide advance notice regarding hazardous material shipments through our communities.”

To aid planning and response by local governments to increasing shipments of these dangerous materials, Senator Wolk is authoring legislation (SB 506) with Senator Jerry Hill to provide funding to help communities like Benicia provide adequate emergency response to accidents and spills involving rail transports of crude oil and other hazardous materials.

###

California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Draft EIR

Benicia Planning Commission special session on June 30

BREAKING NEWS …

BENICIA PLANNING COMMISSION TO BE TRAINED ON THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT AND REVIEWING A DRAFT EIR

The City of Benicia just announced that they will be holding a special meeting of the Planning Commission on Monday, June 30th, “a general training session on the California Environmental Quality Act and more specifically reviewing a DEIR.  Kat Wellman, Special Counsel, will provide the training. “ The meeting is open to the public and will be held at at 7pm in the City Hall Chambers.   The AGENDA states that they will not be discussing the Valero CBR Project.

NOTE: This means there will be TWO such workshops in Benicia:

  1. The Planning Commission workshop on June 30
  2. Benicians For a Safe and Healthy Community is hosting a similar workshop on Saturday, June 28, 1-4pm at the Benicia Library.  Details here.   Download the flyer: WORKSHOP: How to Respond to Valero’s Draft Environmental Impact Report.
Federal Regulation (U.S.), Oil Industry, Rail industry, State regulation

California Energy Commission workshop on trends in sources of crude oil (Wed. 6/25/14)

Repost from California Energy Commission
[Editor: this 9am-5pm workshop will have a broad range of knowledgeable presenters.  Agenda here.  Sorry for short notice.  – RS]

Lead Commissioner Workshop on Trends in Sources of Crude Oil

Wednesday, June 25, 2014, 9:00 AM

The California Energy Commission Lead Commissioner on the Integrated Energy Policy Report will conduct a workshop to highlight changing trends in California’s sources of crude oil with emphasis on the potential growth of crude oil transport to California by rail, and the impacts of these trends on the transportation energy market and existing government policies. The discussions will focus on existing and possible new roles of federal, state, and local government to address market changes.

Commissioner Janea A. Scott, Chair Robert Weisenmiller, and Commissioner Karen Douglas will be in attendance. CPUC President Michael R. Peevey will also be in attendance. Commissioner Scott is the Lead Commissioner for the 2014 IEPR Update and the Lead Commissioner on Transportation. Other Commissioners of the California Energy Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission may attend and participate in the workshop. The workshop will be held:

June 25, 2014 9:00 AM
Berkeley City College Auditorium
2050 Center Street
Berkeley, California 94704
(Wheelchair Accessible)

Remote Access Available by Computer or Phone via WebEx
Presentations and audio from the meeting will be broadcast via our WebEx web meeting service. For additional details on how to participate via WebEx, please see the notice at: http://www.energy.ca.gov/2014_energypolicy/documents/#06252014

Computer Log on with a Direct Phone Number:
– Please go to https://energy.webex.com/ec/ and enter the unique meeting number 924 482 257
– When prompted, enter your information and the following meeting password meeting@9 . (Please note that password is case sensitive.)

For More Information:
http://www.energy.ca.gov/2014_energypolicy/documents/index.html#06252014

Agenda  (Go here for the detailed timed agenda.)
This workshop will address current and anticipated trends in petroleum, crude oil distribution logistics, safety requirements and oversight of crude oil by rail transport, and California policies and activities designed to diversify the mix of future transportation fuels. Staff will facilitate discussions on these topics from industry, government agency, and academic perspectives. Participants will be asked to present information and insights on crude oil trends, the need for changes in government oversight responsibilities and regulatory requirements, and the potential options to reduce the need for petroleum as a transportation fuel.

Background

California obtains crude oil from foreign imports, Alaska, and in-state production. Since 2003, crude oil production from Alaska and California has declined while foreign imports have increased to over 50 percent of the state’s supply. Imports from Alaska and foreign sources are delivered to California by marine vessel. However, California’s crude oil sources appear to be shifting to new supplies, spurred by hydraulic fracturing and other extraction technology advances in North Dakota and other states and development of Canadian oil sands. Shipments of these new resources by rail or by barge from the state of Washington are increasing and could represent over 25 percent of California’s crude oil within a few years, depending on the economics of the extraction, transport, and development and approval of receiving/storage terminals in California. The development of the Monterey shale formation in California, while offering significant production potential, has not progressed primarily because the complex geology of the formation makes it expensive to develop.

California’s gasoline demand is expected to decline from 14.6 billion gallons in 2013 to 12.7 billion gallons in 2020 as the result of improvements in corporate average fuel economy standards (CAFE), requiring automakers to achieve 35.5 miles per gallon in 2016 and 54.5 mpg by 2025. Diesel and jet fuel are expected to grow at a rate of 1 – 2 percent per year, spurred by increased freight movement and other factors. California’s net crude oil demand to produce refined petroleum products is expected to decline in this period. California refineries also produce petroleum products for Arizona and Nevada and may be exporting the refined products to international markets.

Federal and California laws, regulations, and incentives designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce transportation demand, and increase the development and use of alternative fuels as a petroleum displacement have begun to show modest changes in the transportation energy market and could be poised for significant growth and displacement of petroleum fuels. The federal government provides the primary oversight of rail safety with additional roles by state agencies. California local governments review the environmental impacts of modifications and new construction of crude oil storage and delivery terminals under the California Environmental Quality Act regulations.

Public Comment

Oral Comments. The IEPR Lead Commissioner will accept oral comments during the

workshop. Comments may be limited to three minutes per speaker. Any comments will

become part of the public record in this proceeding.

Written Comments. Written comments should be submitted to the Dockets Unit by

July 10, 2014. Written comments will also be accepted at the workshop, however, the

Energy Commission may not have time to review them before the conclusion of the

workshop. All written comments will become part of the public record of this proceeding.

Additionally, written comments may be posted to the Energy Commission’s website for

this proceeding.

The Energy Commission encourages comments by e-mail. Please include your name

and any organization name. Comments should be in a downloadable, searchable format

such as Microsoft® Word (.doc) or Adobe® Acrobat® (.pdf). Please include the docket

number 14-IEP-1F and indicate Trends in Sources of Crude Oil in the subject line. Send

comments to docket@energy.ca.gov and copy the technical lead staff at

Gordon.Schremp@energy.ca.gov.

If you prefer, you may send a paper copy of your comments to:

California Energy Commission

Dockets Office, MS-4

Re: Docket No. 14-IEP-1F

1516 Ninth Street

Sacramento, CA 95814-5512

Public Adviser and Other Commission Contacts

The Energy Commission’s Public Adviser’s Office provides the public assistance in

participating in Energy Commission proceedings. If you want information on how to

participate in this forum, please contact Alana Mathews, Public Advisor, at

(916) 654-4489 or toll free at (800) 822-6228, or by e-mail at

PublicAdviser@energy.ca.gov.

If you have a disability and require assistance to participate, please contact Lou Quiroz

at LQuiroz@energy.ca.gov or (916) 654-5146 at least five days in advance.

Media inquiries should be sent to the Media and Public Communications Office at

(916) 654-4989, or by e-mail at mediaoffice@energy.ca.gov.

If you have questions on the technical subject matter of this meeting, please call Gordon

Schremp, Senior Fuels Specialist, at (916) 654-4887 or e-mail at

Gordon.Schremp@energy.ca.gov. For general questions regarding the IEPR

proceeding, please contact Lynette Green, IEPR project manager, at (916) 653-2728 or

by e-mail at Lynette.Green@energy.ca.gov.

The service list for the 2014 IEPR Update is handled electronically. Notices and

documents for this proceeding are posted to the Energy Commission website at

www.energy.ca.gov/2014_energypolicy/index.html. When new information is posted, an

e-mail will be sent to those on the energy policy e-mail list server. We encourage those

who are interested in receiving these notices to sign up for the list server through the

website at www.energy.ca.gov/listservers/index.html.

Remote Attendance

You may participate in this meeting through WebEx, the Energy Commission’s online

meeting service. Presentations will appear on your computer screen, and you may listen

to the audio via your computer or telephone. Please be aware that the meeting may be

recorded.

To join a meeting:

VIA COMPUTER: Go to

https://energy.webex.com/energy/onstage/g.php?d=924482257&t=a and enter the

unique meeting number: 924 482 257. When prompted, enter your information and the

following meeting password: meeting@9

The “Join Conference” menu will offer you a choice of audio connections:

1. To call into the meeting: Select “I will call in” and follow the on-screen directions.

2. International Attendees: Click on the “Global call-in number” link.

3. To have WebEx call you: Enter your phone number and click “Call Me.”

4. To listen over the computer: If you have a broadband connection, and a headset

or a computer microphone and speakers, you may use VolP (Internet audio) by

going to the Audio menu, clicking on “Use Computer Headset,” then “Call Using

Computer.”

VIA TELEPHONE ONLY (no visual presentation): Call 1-866-469-3239 (toll-free in the

U.S. and Canada). When prompted, enter the unique meeting number: 924 482 257.

International callers may select their number from

https://energy.webex.com/energy/globalcallin.php.

VIA MOBILE ACCESS: Access to WebEx meetings is now available from your mobile

device. To download an app, go to www.webex.com/overview/mobile-meetings.html.

If you have difficulty joining the meeting, please call the WebEx Technical Support

number at 1-866-229-3239

Availability of Documents

Documents, agenda and presentations for this meeting will be available online at

www.energy.ca.gov/2014_energypolicy/documents/index.html by June 20.

Date: June 16, 2014

JANEA A. SCOTT

Lead Commissioner

2014 Integrated Energy Policy Report Update

Mail Lists: energy policy, transportation, altfuels