Category Archives: Benicia City Council

Bakken Crude, Benicia City Council, Benicia Planning Commission, CPC-1232, Crude By Rail, Derailment, Emergency Readiness & Response, Explosion, Oil spill, Oil stabilization, Rail inspection, Rail routing, Steve Young, Tank car design, Tank car puncture velocity, Train speed, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Crude By Rail, Volatile gases, Volatility, Water contamination

STEVE YOUNG: What Benicia can learn from the Oregon train derailment

Repost from the Benicia Herald

What Benicia can learn from the Oregon train derailment

By Steve Young, June 7, 2016
Planning Commissioner Steve Young is running for City Council. Among the biggest issues in his campaign are opposing Valero’s Crude-By-Rail Project, diversifying the city’s economic base, modernizing the water and sewer system, improving the roads and maintaining the parks. (Courtesy photo)
Planning Commissioner Steve Young is running for Benicia City Council. Among the biggest issues in his campaign are opposing Valero’s Crude-By-Rail Project, diversifying the city’s economic base, modernizing the water and sewer system, improving the roads and maintaining the parks. (Courtesy photo)

On Friday, June 3, a Union Pacific train carrying Bakken crude oil derailed in the town of Mosier, Ore. Fourteen rail cars came off the tracks, and four exploded over a 5 hour period.

There are several things that the City Council needs to keep in mind whenever they re-open discussion of the appeal of the Planning Commission’s unanimous decision to reject the Valero Crude-by-Rail project. Many of the assurances given to the public about the safety of transporting crude by rail have been called into question by this derailment.

    1. The train cars that derailed and exploded are the upgraded CPC-1232 version promised to be used by Valero for this project.
    2. The train derailed at a relatively slow speed as it passed through the small town of Mosier. Union Pacific trains carrying Bakken to Valero will travel at speeds up to 50 mph in most of Solano County.
    3. The portion of track on which the train derailed had been inspected by Union Pacific three days before the derailment.
    4. A Union Pacific spokesman, while apologizing for the derailment and fire, would not answer a reporter’s question as to whether the Bakken oil had been stabilized with the removal of volatile gases prior to shipment.
      At the Planning Commission hearing, I tried repeatedly without success to get an answer from both UP and Valero as to whether they intended to de-gassify the Bakken oil prior to transport.
    5. A major interstate, Interstate 84, was closed for 10 hours in both directions while first responders used river water to try and cool the tank cars to a point where foam could be used to try and put out the fire. It took more than 12 hours to stabilize the scene.
    6. An oil sheen is in the river, despite the deployment of containment booms.

And finally, Oregon Public Broadcasting on June 4 had an exchange with the Fire Chief of Mosier, about how this experience changed his opinion about the safety of transporting crude by rail:

“Jim Appleton, the fire chief in Mosier, Ore., said in the past, he’s tried to reassure his town that the Union Pacific Railroad has a great safety record and that rail accidents are rare.

“He’s changed his mind.

“After a long night working with hazardous material teams and firefighters from across the Northwest to extinguish a fire that started when a train carrying Bakken crude derailed in his town, Appleton no longer believes shipping oil by rail is safe.

“’I hope that this becomes the death knell for this mode of shipping this cargo. I think it’s insane,’ he said. ’I’ve been very hesitant to take a side up to now, but with this incident, and with all due respect to the wonderful people that I’ve met at Union Pacific, shareholder value doesn’t outweigh the lives and happiness of our community.’”

When the City Council took up the appeal of the Planning Commission decision in April, Mayor Patterson and Councilmember Campbell stated their opposition to the project, while the other three councilmembers (Hughes, Schwartzman and Strawbridge) approved Valero’s request to delay a decision on this project until at least Sept. 20. There is still time for the citizens of Benicia to tell their elected officials how they feel about this project. I urge them to do so.

Steve Young, a member of the Benicia Planning Commission, is running for the Benicia City Council in November.

Benicia City Council, Crude By Rail, Public permitting, Surface Transportation Board, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Crude By Rail

Benicia City Council written transcripts: April 18, April 19 hearings on Valero Crude by Rail

By Roger Straw, June 2, 2016

CITY COUNCIL WRITTEN TRANSCRIPTS – APR. 18-19 HEARINGS

Benicia, CaliforniaToday, after a lengthy delay, the City of Benicia posted written transcripts of the City Council’s April hearings on Valero Crude by Rail: April 18 transcript and April 19 transcript.  (Note that Valero was in possession of these transcripts before they were released to the public. See Valero’s May 31 petition to the Surface Transportation Board, Exhibit 6, pp. 93-96.)

The documents are fully indexed and searchable. Unlike earlier Planning Commission transcripts, which were released in two formats (full and condensed/indexed), these documents are full, unindexed transcripts.

The April 18 meeting includes final public comments, Valero’s 5-minute closing comment, and the first portion of Councilmember questions of city staff.

The April 19 meeting continues Council questions of staff, and concludes with the Council’s decision to grant Valero’s request for a delay in proceedings until September 20 so that Valero can petition the Surface Transportation Board for a declarative judgement on preemption issues that could prohibit Benicia from denying Valero’s project.

Benicia City Council, Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson, Crude By Rail, Local elections, Valero Crude By Rail

ENDORSEMENT: Elizabeth Patterson for Mayor of Benicia

By Roger Straw, May 26, 2016

Elizabeth Patterson – “Experience You Can Trust”

Elizabeth Patterson, Benicia Mayor 2007 - present
Elizabeth Patterson, Benicia Mayor 2007 – present

I helped elect Elizabeth Patterson for Mayor of Benicia in 2007 and 2011.  I co-chaired her campaign in 2011 and I’d be hard at work on her campaign again this year, but I am juggling too many other responsibilities.

My endorsement of Elizabeth Patterson could not be stronger or more heart-felt. She has led our community and taught us all about environmental sustainability, stewardship of water, the importance of diversification in our local economy, how to get things done in local government and much more.

Elizabeth has served the entire state of California as a water expert, and has contacts throughout the state that work to Benicia’s advantage.

As her campaign slogan puts it, she has “Experience You Can Trust.”

Please vote for Elizabeth Patterson for Mayor in November!

Here are a few excerpts from Elizabeth’s website, ElizabethForMayor.com:

I am running for reelection because I want Benicia to thrive. I have been on the council since 2003 and as Mayor since 2007. I saw us through the Great Recession by working with the city manager and council to avoid cutting city services and ensuring sound fiscal policies.

The greatest job growth in California is clean tech. We need to double our efforts to diversify our economic activity to transition from too much dependence on the refinery and gas stations and more clean tech companies. We need to protect the businesses we have and upgrade the Business and Industrial Park with fiber optics, and repurposing “warehouse” buildings for more revenue generating businesses. We need to invest and modernize this economic engine that provides the revenue for city services – parks, police and fire, human services, arts and culture and a livable, walkable historic town.

The General Plan is our “constitution” and its overarching goal is to be a sustainable city. We are the little city that can – we have a public energy provider with 50 or 100% renewable energy sources; we exceeded the Governor’s emergency 25% water savings by averaging about 33%; we defied two governors from closing our State Parks; we are at the top as one of the best places to raise children with great schools, safe community and small town place.

This was made possible by forward thinking leadership knowing the community’s values, staying focused on our goals and being bold and forthright.

I have even stood up to City Hall when they tried to stop my sending information about Crude by Rail safety issues and seeking state action on providing greater safety to our town. I will continue to be vocal and not gamble with Benicia’s safety.

I work for you from the annual delivering Meals on Wheels, supporting our historic preservation community and arts community, collaborating with Vallejo and the County to keep our State Parks, promoting biking to work and school, energy and water conservation, and not gambling on clean air and water and a healthy Benicia.

Experience you can trust . . . another four years!

Benicia City Council, Benicia Planning Commission, Crude By Rail, Local elections, Local Regulation, Steve Young, Valero Crude By Rail

BENICIA HERALD: Steve Young running for City Council

Repost from the Benicia Herald
[Editor:  The Benicia Independent endorses Steve Young for City Council. Learn more about Steve’s campaign kickoff party this Friday, April 27, and RSVP here.  – RS]

Planning Commissioner Steve Young will make bid for City Council

by Nick Sestanovich
Planning Commissioner Steve Young will be running for City Council. Among the biggest issues in his campaign are opposing Valero’s Crude-By-Rail Project, diversifying the city’s economic base, modernizing the water and sewer system, improving the roads and maintaining the parks. (Courtesy photo)
Planning Commissioner Steve Young will be running for City Council. Among the biggest issues in his campaign are opposing Valero’s Crude-By-Rail Project, diversifying the city’s economic base, modernizing the water and sewer system, improving the roads and maintaining the parks. (Courtesy photo)

Steve Young, a current member of Benicia’s Planning Commission, is looking to make the leap to City Council.

Young’s decision to run was partly influenced by the Council’s decision to delay Valero’s Crude-By-Rail Project rather than deny the refinery a permit to have its crude oil delivered by railroad rather than by boat.

The project was announced in 2013 and drew concerns from residents over its environmental impacts. On Feb. 11, the Planning Commission unanimously rejected a permit from Valero, but the company sent a letter of appeal to the city. City Council held hearings in April, and in a 3-2 decision, the hearings were delayed until September as Valero asks the Surface Transportation Board for a decision on the issue of federal pre-emption.

That was the final straw for Young, who had been considering a bid for City Council.

“I had a lot of people approaching me after the Planning Commission meetings, urging me to run,” he said. “I put off making a decision until I knew which way the Council was leaning, and once it became obvious which was the Council was leaning, I felt it was important for me to throw my hat in the ring and give people who were anxious about this project an alternative way to express their opposition.”

Young does not feel the project is necessary and proposes that the refinery just keep its delivery operation as is.

“Tankers, to me, are much safer, much less polluting and doesn’t require massive potential traffic problems that we already see happening down in the Industrial Park,” he said.

Young acknowledges the economic benefits of the project but feels the environmental risks are far greater.

“It increases their profits, but I think the tradeoff is too great to justify,” he said.

Young has a long history with politics, dating back to his tenure as student body president at his high school in Burbank. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science from UC Berkeley in 1973 and a master’s in urban policy and administration from San Francisco State. He served in various government management positions in California and Virginia and was also the community development director for the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency from 1999 to 2008. After his retirement from that position, he and his wife Marty moved to Costa Rica so that their daughter Cora could attend high school in a different culture. After Cora graduated in 2012, the Youngs moved back to Benicia where Steve was appointed to the Planning Commission that year. He says that being retired gave him a lot more time to research documents for the Crude-By-Rail Project.

“I had the time to dig through all those documents and do three years of research on it,” he said. “When the Planning Commission started on the Final Environmental Impact Report, I was well-prepared and I had three years’ worth of questions to ask.”

Young also proposes examining the Seeno project, which would construct a 528-acre business park development by East Second Street and Lake Herman Road.

“The idea of straight suburban-type development on that property is problematic for a lot of reasons,” he said. “I’d like to give that a close look.”

Young also supports transparency regarding the recent water and sewer rate increases, diversifying the Industrial Park and turning the Majestic Theatre on First Street into a live music venue to generate revenue for the city.

“Overall there is a challenge that the city is a full-service city, but it doesn’t have a lot of different ways to raise revenue,” he said. “They’re trying to serve a lot of functions with a limited source of money, and I think that’s something that’s going to have to be looked at going forward. Either raise your money or limit your cost, because it’s not sustainable the way it’s going.”

More information on Young’s campaign can be found at SteveYoungForCityCouncil.org. There will also be a campaign kickoff event from 5:50 to 9:30 p.m., Saturday, May 27 at Ruszel Woodworks, located at 2980 Bayshore Road. Food, drinks and live music will be provided. If you go, please RSVP to SteveYoungForCityCouncil@gmail.com.