We remember those who died and those who grieve and those who heal and rebuild in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. On the evening of July 10, 2014, Benicians For a Safe and Healthy Community gathered in remembrance, bearing 47 sunflowers representing the 47 who were killed by a runaway crude oil train just over a year ago on July 6, 2013. Our own Rev. Dr. Mary Susan Gast offered the following meditation and prayer.
Lac-Mégantic Memorial 10 July 2014
We gather today in remembrance
Of forty-seven people
Whose death came without warning, and with fiery finality,
An hour or so after midnight just over a year ago
In a small town in Quebec.
Death came without malice aforethought, but seemingly with dire whimsy,
To those who slept in their beds,
Or worked the night shift,
Or left the bar early,
In the blast zone of tank cars running off the tracks, laden with explosive crude oil.
We gather today because the strange geography of compassion
brings what has struck far away
close to home.
We turn our hearts and our spirits to the people of Lac-Mégantic, population 5900,
who carry on in a place “where you either know someone who died or know someone who is grieving a death, where you wake up each day to the sound of heavy construction equipment, where your livelihood is at risk and where visitors come only to ask about the disaster.”
where social workers have so far met with 423 residents, from orphaned children to mourning grandparents,
where 800 jobs have been lost,
whose once serene waterfront is now inaccessible behind security barriers and rubble.
We gather today because the troubling perspective of imagination
brings what has struck far away
close to home.
We turn our thoughts and our voices to those who will make decisions about our town’s future.
We ask that they will take the long view,
That they will recall Lac-Mégantic—the town and the people—and remember that there have been 18 other derailments of tank cars carrying crude since last July,
That they will, with insight into human frailty, be aware that despite our good intentions, despite our commitment to safety standards, there are forces too toxic to be contained, standards too inadequate to defend against disaster.
That they will keep their minds and their hearts open to the future of Benicia, the town and the people, and the towns and the people uprail and downwind, the marshlands, the farmlands, the businesses, and the waterfront.
All these things we pray and do in the name of the Great Spirit of Life, Who blesses us with earth, air, and water, who graces us with creativity and community, and strengthens us with compassion and imagination.
[Editor: I sent the following letter to the Editor of the Benicia Herald. It was published in the July 6 print edition. A similar letter was sent to the Vallejo Times-Herald, but has yet to appear there. – RS]
Why no coverage of BSHC event?
July 2, 2014, Benicia Herald Forum, p. A4
In response to the recent release of the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) on Valero’s proposed Crude by Rail project, three groups held public meetings on the massive document this past week. Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community (BSHC) held an event on Saturday, June 28; Valero and the Benicia Planning Commission held events on Monday, June 30. BSHC sent out a timely press release, announced the event in emails, and submitted it for inclusion in the Benicia Herald Community Calendar. I am aware that your staff cannot be everywhere and cover every significant event in town. Nevertheless, I regret that only the Valero and Planning Commission forums received prominent and detailed coverage in the July 2 edition of the Benicia Herald.
Readers might want to balance the promotional perspectives shared by Valero at its meeting, and the comments of the City’s contract attorney at the Planning Commission workshop by looking over the information on SafeBenicia.org and/or BeniciaIndependent.com. A video of parts of the June 28 BSHC workshop on how to read and comment on an EIR can be seen on YouTube at http://youtu.be/9Prey7fckk8, (thanks to Constance Beutel).
An increasing number of thoughtful citizens in Benicia oppose Valero’s proposal, for good reason: the City’s health and safety are at risk; our uprail communities (Davis, Sacramento, etc.) do not want Valero’s trains putting their health and safety at risk; and California, the U.S., Canada – and the earth – cannot handle more dirty and explosive crude oil when clean energy is our chosen future and legislated mandate. To remain truly competitive into the future, Valero should invest in a plan for an immediate transition away from fossil fuels.
Roger Straw
Member of the Steering Committee
Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community www.SafeBenicia.org
Repost from FOX40 News, Sacramento / Stockton / Modesto [Editor: Video coverage of Valero’s meeting, including background footage of crude by rail explosions and an interview with Andrés Soto, spokesperson for Benicians For a Safe & Healthy Community. – RS]
Valero Tries to Sway Public Opinion at Crude by Rail Meeting
By Doug Johnson, 6/30/14
BENICIA – Valero Energy is building its case to transport highly flammable crude oil through northern California, and held a public meeting Monday night in Benicia.
Critics of the plan are worried about the worst-case scenario of a derailment and potential explosion, much like incidents in North Daktoa, Virginia and a deadly disaster in Quebec in 2013.
More than a hundred people came to Monday’s meeting. Valero says the benefits outweigh the risks, but others aren’t sure.
“We believe that there’s sufficient flaws with this draft instrument impact report,” Andres Soto, with Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community, said.
Valero’s plan is to transport crude oil through Roseville, Sacramento and Davis to its refinery in Benicia. Soto says Valero isn’t saying how ready first responders would be if a derailment were to happen.
“There’s no real response to the question about the insufficient capacity of the Benicia Fire Department,” Soto said.
The energy company argues that its own, private fire department will train other departments in cities the trains pass through.
Valero said only four trains a day would pass through Benicia, 20 new, local jobs would be created and there’s an environmental benefit to using trains.
“Having crude delivered by rail versus marine deliveries today will result in lower emissions in the Bay Area and California,” Valero’s Benicia Refinery Safety Director Chris Howe said.
The company also wants rail inspections increased and speeds through populated areas to be lowered.
Soto says that’s not enough.
“Their window looked at a 40 year period when this stuff has only been on the rail for the past two years,” he said.
The City of Benicia will hold a vote once a 45-day public comment period is up on Aug. 1.
Repost from The Rose Foundation
[Editor: We are so proud of our colleague and friend, Marilyn Bardet. This honor is more than well-deserved. What would Benicia be without her sharp eyes and driving, precision vocabulary on issues of community health and safety. Don’t miss the photos and videos far below. – RS]
2014 Anthony Prize Winner – Marilyn Bardet
“Stop Crude by Rail” Benicia Activist Marilyn Bardet Honored With 13th Annual Anthony Grassroots Prize
Oakland, CA, May 6, 2014
Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment today announces Marilyn Bardet of Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community as the winner of the 2014 Anthony Grassroots Prize, an annual Earth Day award recognizing an outstanding example of grassroots environmental stewardship.
Last year, the Valero refinery proposed adding a massive crude oil rail terminal to their facility. The project would bring 100 rail tanker cars through Benicia every day, potentially carrying some of the dirtiest and dangerously explosive crude oils such as tar sands and Bakken crude. Bardet sprang into action, forming a new group, Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community, and collaborating with other fenceline communities and national organizations like Natural Resources Defense Council, who nominated her for the Prize, to stop crude by rail in Benicia and the Bay Area.
“It takes a special kind of person to stand up to big oil on behalf of the community,” according to Anthony Prize founder Juliette Anthony. “We salute Marilyn Bardet’s 20 years of advocacy and celebrate her many past achievements. With the threat of hundreds of oil tanker cars headed to Benicia every day loaded with dirty, explosive Bakken crude, we need her now more than ever.”
Bardet embodies the unsung grassroots activist spirit for which the Prize was established, helping lead community efforts to protect Benicia residents from toxics and hazards for the past twenty years. She, along with fellow residents, has taken on David v. Goliath local challenges posed by big corporations including Koch Industries and the Valero Refinery – and won. In 1995, she led a successful local campaign to stop Koch Industries’ proposed petroleum coke storage and shipping terminal at the Port of Benicia and continues to support community efforts to shape a post-carbon Benicia.
Upon learning the news of her award, Bardet was “amazed and honored.” “The Anthony Prize might as well be the Nobel Prize for us small groups working in the trenches,” says Bardet. “Pulling grassroots activists out of the woodwork and showcasing the amazing things they are getting done in their local communities is a noble, important thing Rose Foundation is doing.”
In 1999, Bardet helped found the Good Neighbor Steering Committee (GNSC) in Benicia, a residents’ association formed out of concern about what would happen once the former Exxon refinery was sold to Valero. Since its founding, Marilyn and the GNSC have engaged in an ongoing dialogue with the Valero refinery, monitored developments, and encouraged the creation of a Community Advisory Panel after a string of incidents including flaring, spills, and fires.
In 2008, GNSC and Bardet were instrumental in securing “The Valero/Good Neighbor Steering Committee Settlement Agreement,” providing $14 million in environmental benefits to the City of Benicia, including a commitment to air quality monitoring, improvements in energy efficiency, greenhouse gas reductions, and water-saving measures.
Like many grassroots activists, Bardet doesn’t do this work for a paycheck, but for love of her community. For Bardet, “the most profound challenge we all now face is the accelerating rate of climate change. Continuing “business as usual” run by Big Oil – pretending we can go on extracting and burning fossil fuels like there’s no tomorrow – is a dead end with horrific long-range consequences.” The Anthony Grassroots Prize, to Bardet, “honors all the good work being done by so many communities helping bring about the necessary transition to a post carbon, resilient, sustainable and just economy and culture. Accepting this award, I receive it for many.”
Bardet has designated the $1,000 prize money be awarded to Benicia Community Gardens, a grassroots non-profit of which she is the Board Chair. Benicia Community Gardens has established two community gardens, a local CSA program, and the first Benicia community orchard.
For more information about Marilyn Bardet and the campaign to Stop Crude By Rail, contact: Marilyn Bardet, Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community, (707) 745-9094 or (707) 816-9777, mjbardet@comcast.net
ABOUT the Anthony Grassroots Prize
The Anthony Grassroots Prize was endowed by Juliette Anthony, a lifelong environmental activist who has received wide recognition for her work in protecting the Santa Monica Mountains, banning the toxic gasoline additive MTBE, promoting solar power and publicizing the negative environmental impacts of ethanol.
ABOUT Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment
Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment supports community-based advocacy to protect the environment and public health through grant-making and direct service programs. Rose Foundation’s focus includes grassroots activism, watershed protection, environmental justice and consumer rights. Rose also administers New Voices Are Rising, a youth leadership development and environmental justice advocacy training program.
For more information about the Anthony Grassroots Prize & Rose Foundation, contact: Tim Little, Executive Director, Rose Foundation, (510) 658-0702 ext. 301, tlittle@rosefdn.org
Marion Gee, Communications Coordinator, Rose Foundation, (949) 378-5253, mgee@rosefdn.org
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Marilyn Bardet Biography
A California native, born and raised in San Mateo, I have been an activist for social justice and against war since high school. Graduated from UC Berkeley in 1970, BA in the humanities; in 1985, studied fine art and graduated with BA and Masters in Painting from Boston University School of Fine Arts, where I taught drawing and design. Actively opposed Vietnam War and all subsequent US-instigated “resource wars,”including “Star Wars.” Volunteered for Defense and Disarmament Institute in Boston in the 80’s; in the 90‘s, served as boardmember of the Mt. Diablo Peace Center, Walnut Creek; in 1995, helped lead successful fight against Koch Industries’ proposal for a petcoke storage and shipping terminal at the Port of Benicia intended to serve all 5 Bay Area refineries; worked on several Cal-EPA-led toxic cleanup projects in Benicia, including military site cleanup of formerly used defense site where live ordnance was discovered – a site intended for residential development by Ford Motor; in 2005, helped successful fight against Bechtel’s and Shell Oil’s proposal for a Liquified Natural Gas terminal and power plant at Mare Island, Vallejo; in 2000, when Valero bought the Exxon refinery in Benicia, helped found the refinery watchdog group, the Good Neighbor Steering Committee; since 2005, have served as board chair of Benicia Community Gardens, a grassroots non-profit that has established two community gardens, a local CSA program with Terra Firma Farm, and recently a first Benicia community orchard.
Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment today announces Marilyn Bardet of Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community as the winner of the 2014 Anthony Grassroots Prize, an annual Earth Day award recognizing an outstanding example of grassroots environmental stewardship.
Bardet embodies the unsung grassroots activist spirit for which the Prize was established, helping lead community efforts to protect Benicia residents from toxics and hazards for the past twenty years. She, along with fellow residents, has taken on David v. Goliath local challenges posed by big corporations including Koch Industries and the Valero Refinery – and won. In 1995, she led a successful local campaign to stop Koch Industries’ proposed petroleum coke storage and shipping terminal at the Port of Benicia and continues to support community efforts to shape a post-carbon Benicia.
