Category Archives: Benicia CA

Benicia CA, Environmental review, Santa Maria Refinery, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Crude By Rail

San Luis Obispo Tribune: Benicia to recirculate Valero DEIR

Repost from the San Luis Obispo Tribune
[Editor: Nice to know that the folks in San Luis Obispo (home of Phillips 66 Santa Maria Refinery) are keeping an eye on Benicia….  – RS]

California city plans more study of crude-oil rail shipments

The Associated PressFebruary 4, 2015

BENICIA, Calif. — The city of Benicia is planning further review of a refinery’s plan to move as many as 100 train cars of flammable crude oil daily through Northern California communities.The Sacramento Bee reports (http://bit.ly/1LLESFw ) Benicia officials said Tuesday that they have decided to redo some sections of an environmental impact analysis of the project. The city plans to release a rewritten report June 30 for public review.

The decision comes after numerous groups, including Attorney General Kamala Harris, called the city’s review of the project inadequate.

The Valero Refining Company in Benicia plans to have trains travel on the Union Pacific line that runs through downtown West Sacramento and Davis, along the same tracks that carry Capitol Corridor passenger trains between Sacramento and the Bay Area.

Information from: The Sacramento Bee, http://www.sacbee.com
Benicia CA, Benicia Herald, Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Crude By Rail

Valero Crude by Rail ranked #1 news story in Benicia for 2014

By Roger Straw, January 30, 2015

The Benicia Herald published a separate section today, “The Year 2014 In Review.”  Counting down dramatically from #14, the #1 story of the year was “Opponents, supporters of Crude-by-Rail Plan square off as city leaders mull decision.”  Subtitle: “For second straight year, Valero Refinery’s permit request dominates Benicia news.”

Editor Marc Ethier will not be publishing the special section online.  When asked, he indicated it would only be for print subscribers.

The article bends over backwards to present a balanced view of the controversy, giving Valero’s perspective and naming our local organized opposition, Benicians For a Safe and Healthy Community and other groups and government entities that were critical of the project and/or it’s environmental review.

It’s appropriate that our local paper recognized the controversy as the City’s #1 story last year.  Benicia finds itself in the crosshairs of a growing nationwide debate, and Valero’s dangerous and toxic proposal would, if approved, affect communities all up and down the rails.

The Benicia Herald’s #6 story of 2014 was “Mayor, city attorney in free speech flap.”  For more on this, see our Local Media page.

Benicia CA, Benicia City Attorney Heather McLaughlin, Benicia City Council, Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Crude By Rail

San Francisco Chronicle: How crude-by-rail — and other debates — are censored

Repost from SFGate, Opinion Shop

How crude-by-rail — and other debates — are censored

By Lois Kazakoff, January 2, 2015
Valero seeks to modify its Benicia refinery to bring in two 50-car trains a day of crude oil.
How the crude-by-rail debate is censored… Valero seeks to modify its Benicia refinery to bring in two 50-car trains a day of crude oil. Photo By The Chronicle

When I wrote in November about how the mayor of Benicia was effectively muzzled from speaking about a pending city decision with nationwide importance, I thought the debate was over climate change. Now I learn the real concern is over democracy itself.

My Nov. 18 blog post concerned the City Council’s decision to make public an opinion on whether the mayor should be allowed to speak freely with voters about Valero’s application to convert its Benicia refinery to receive crude from the Baaken Oil Shale by rail. The decision is huge because fracking the crude is only profitable if the oil can reach refineries and the global market. Benicia’s refinery and port are key components to success.

Locally, Benicians and Californians living along the rail lines are fearful of train cars filled with the highly volatile crude rumbling through their communities twice a day. It’s a highly charged dispute that has drawn in Attorney General Kamala Harris, who chastised the city for only studying the effects on Benicia and not the effects along the entire rail line through California.

When the City Council voted to make public the opinion, written by an attorney hired by the city attorney, the decision was Mayor Elizabeth Patterson had overstepped her bounds.

Why? Because local politicians can advocate for new laws, but when they are holding a public hearing or ruling on a permit — acting more like judges than legislators — the permit applicant’s right to appear before an unbiased body trumps the legislator’s right to freely express an opinion.

Peter Scheer, the executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, writes in Sunday’s Insight section that this growing practice of advising City Council members to censor themselves is deleterious not just to political debate over important and engaging local issues but to democracy. By giving City Councils this dual role and then advising them to censor their own speech, we discourage civic participation  on the concerns constituents care about most.

Bakken Crude, Bay Area, Benicia CA, Blast zone, Cleanup funding, Crude By Rail, Emergency Readiness & Response, Explosion, Federal Regulation (U.S.), Fire, Massive increase in crude-by-rail, Oil spill, Schools, Tank car design, Train crew size, Valero Benicia Refinery

KPIX: State Senator Says Bay Area Not Prepared For Crude Oil Trains

Repost from 5KPIX TV CBS SF Bay Area
[Editor: apologies for the video’s commercial ad.  You can pass on choosing an ad – the video will begin if you just wait.  – RS]

State Senator Says Bay Area Not Prepared For Crude Oil Trains

Phil Matier talks with state senator Jerry Hill who believes that Bay Area emergency crews are not properly prepared to handle the hundreds of tanker trains bringing shale crude oil from the Dakotas to local refineries. (11/23/14)