Category Archives: Crude By Rail

Benicia City Council, Crude By Rail, Local Regulation, Public Health, Public permitting, Public Safety, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Crude By Rail

350 BAY AREA calls for everyone to attend Benicia City Council on April 4

Repost from 350 Bay Area
[Editor:  To RSVP to 350 Bay Area, click here and scroll down.  – RS]

Stop Crude-By-Rail in Benicia 4/4

By Carla West, March 19, 2016

350 Bay AreaThe Benicia Planning Commission voted unanimously to reject Valero’s proposal for a crude-by-rail project at its Benicia refinery in February. The vote was a stunning victory for citizens, Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community, and environmental groups who have been campaigning for years against Valero’s proposed crude-by-rail project. It came after four nights of testimony from citizens, lawyers, up-rail communities, environmental groups, & Valero. It was the second major defeat of proposed fossil fuel expansion projects in the Bay Area recently. The Pittsburg City Council voted this winter to kill WesPac’s proposal to build massive storage terminals in the city. The February hearing in Benicia was packed with people in the chambers as well as three overflow rooms waiting all week into the wee hours to testify.

One important point was the issue of federal preemption. The Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995, or ICCTA, preempts state and local regulation of rails and gives jurisdiction to the federal Surface Transportation Board, or STB. While Valero argued that federal preemption applied in this case, several lawyers from environmental groups such as Communities for a Better Environment, Sierra Club, and others testified that this is not an accurate reading of the law and that the city has authority over the use permit.

Another issue is the the changing composition of the crude oil to be processed by the project. Scientists from environmental groups point out that part of the reason for this project is to bring in tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada which is more toxic than traditional crudes.

Valero had ten days to appeal the unanimous decision by the Planning Commission to reject their proposed project, & they appealed it during that time period, so the appeal went to the city council. The Benicia City Council began hearing presentations on the project on March 15th. They will continue to hear testimony from citizens on April 4, 6, & 19 or until everyone who has shown up has had a chance to speak. Then the council will vote, and after that the next stop is litigation which could tie the project up for years. The outcome at the city council is crucial. It will determine whether the project can’t happen or whether it gets to go forward for the years during the litigation.

Please join us – RSVP to let your voice be heard or just come to support those who are speaking. Please let us know if you need a ride.

WHEN
April 04, 2016 at 7pm – 11pm

WHERE
Benicia City Hall
250 E L St
Benicia, CA 94510
United States
Google map and directions

CONTACT
Carla West · carlacwest@gmail.com

Benicia City Council, Benicia Planning Commission, Blast zone, Crude By Rail, Explosion, Oil trains, Public Health, Public Safety, Take Action, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Crude By Rail

SIERRA CLUB NATIONAL TAKE ACTION: Protect California’s communities from explosive Benicia oil trains

Repost from the Sierra Club
[Editor:  Take action on the Sierra Club page.  – RS]

Take action: Protect California’s communities from explosive oil trains

Aftermath of the tragic 2013 crude-by-rail explosion in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, which took 47 lives.

Last month, decision-makers voted unanimously to reject a proposed crude-by-rail project at the Valero oil refinery in Benicia because it “would be detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare” of Benicians and communities along the oil train routes. It was the right decision — projects like these, which put more than five million Californians within the blast zones of explosive oil trains, are not worth the risk.

But the oil company behind this project is appealing this decision to the Benicia City Council — so we need to speak out to protect communities like Benicia, Truckee, Davis, and Sacramento, that would be put at risk if this project moves forward.

This is an all-hands-on-deck moment to stop this dangerous crude-by-rail project once and for all. Take a moment (click here) to urge the Benicia City Council to listen to the public and the city’s own Planning Commission and say NO to Big Oil!

(TIP: If you personalize your message to the City Council with why you care about this issue, your public comment will carry more weight.)

 

Benicia City Council, Crude By Rail, Local Regulation, Public Comment, Public Health, Public permitting, Public Safety, Valero Benicia Appeal, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Crude By Rail

SUNFLOWER ALLIANCE: Call to attend Benicia City Council on April 4, 6, 19

Repost from the Sunflower Alliance

Defend Victory against Valero, April 4, 6, 19

March 11, 2016
valero-refinery-wide
Valero Refinery, Benicia CA

On February 11, we won a tremendous victory against Valero’s Crude by Rail proposal when the Benicia Planning Commission unanimously rejected approval of the land use permit that would have allowed construction of a rail terminal on Valero property and the daily off-loading of two 50-car trains carrying domestic shale oil and/or Canadian tar sands. Valero took no time in appealing the decision.

Final approval of the project lies with the Benicia City Council. At their first hearing on this proposal on March 15, Valero surprised everyone with their request that the City Council delay consideration of their appeal of the Planning Commission’s decision. This would allow them time, they argued, to petition the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) for the agency’s perspective on the scope of federal preemption law governing rail operations. They admitted the delay could take at least three months.

Valero is using the Benicia Crude by Rail project as a test case to drastically expand the range of federal preemption of rail regulation. They are claiming that all activity associated with property with rail spurs, such as the off-loading of crude on Valero property, is covered by federal preemption and thus completely exempt from local and state control. Federal preemption means that all California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements would be superseded. And effects on uprail communities could not be considered at all.

“Make no mistake,” writes Benicia activist Marilyn Bardet, “Valero hopes to bank on setting a precedent, right here in Benicia, that would affect municipalities of every size and stripe across California and the U.S. seeking to protect their communities from the risks of dangerous oil trains plowing through their urban cores and rural landscapes.”

Public hearings will continue on April 4, extending to April 6 and 19, if necessary. We are still not exactly sure what will happen in the April 4 hearing. But we need to show our strength again to make sure the City Council eventually votes with the Planning Commission and in the public interest.

Please come to the April 4th council hearing to voice your concern:

    • to support the authority and requirements of CEQA—for the public’s right to full disclosure of impacts, for enforceable mitigations and feasible project alternatives;
    • to support the Benicia Planning Commission’s consensus judgment resulting in a unanimous vote to deny certification of the Final EIR and deny the project permit;
    • to support Benicia’s authority to protect its health and safety and uphold the Benicia General Plan;
    • to deny Valero’s appeal and audacious corporate attempt to interfere in local politics for their own gain.

We must stand with Benicia in fighting this attack on local democracy.

WHEN
April 4 , 6 and 19 at 7 pm

WHERE
Benicia City Hall
150 East L St.
Benicia

For more information:
Benicians for a Safe & Healthy Community
Benician Independent

Contact: Kat Black: 415-125-9561

Benicia Planning Commission, Crude By Rail, Local Regulation, Public Health, Public Safety, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Crude By Rail

VIDEO: Closing comments of Planning Commissioners and their unanimous vote on February 11, 2016

This is a video clip of the closing comments of each of the Benicia Planning Commissioners followed by their unanimous vote on February 11, 2016.  This clip runs for about 1:20 minutes.  (On the City’s longer and unindexed video, this clip begins at 3:38:30 on 2/11/16 and runs to the end. Note that the video archive of the entire meeting can be found on the City of Benicia website at ci.benicia.ca.us/agendas.)