The controversial Vallejo Marine Terminal and Orcem cement plant just became more controversial, claim community groups throughout the Bay Area who are charging the terminal could ship dirty coal through the city.
BC STAFF REPORT
Published: July, 2018
The controversial Vallejo Marine Terminal and Orcem cement plant just became more controversial, claim community groups throughout the Bay Area who are charging the terminal could ship dirty coal through the city.
Activists from the groups No Coal in Oakland and Sierra Club Richmond joined Vallejo groups at a press briefing on the steps of Vallejo City Hall in late June. The Sierra Club and community partners warned that Vallejo could be the second Bay Area city to succumb to having coal shipped through a new terminal, as Oakland recently lost a court battle to stop coal going through its terminal.
In Vallejo, the Sierra Club is demanding that Vallejo City officials adopt a resolution to ban the shipping of coal and coal byproducts through the city or any of its port facilities, public or private.
“After examining the current environmental impact report for the proposed Orcem Cement Factory and Vallejo Marine Terminal (VMT), our attorneys have found major holes that would allow the applicant to ship coal through Vallejo if the City were to approve the project. Our children and citizens are at great risk from the potential of coal shipments through Vallejo,” said Solano County Sierra Club Chairperson Joseph Feller.
Sierra Club attorneys have found that there is nothing in the current Vallejo Municipal Code to block the applicants from shipping coal through the city.
“Oakland proves that once this flawed project on Vallejo’s Waterfront is approved you can’t put the cows back in the barn,” said Feller. “Vallejo’s only hope is to ban coal now and not after the fact in order to protect our children and citizens. The Sierra Club will meet with each council member and demand this important legislation.”
Experts have already shown that the Orcem cement factory will produce air pollution levels so high that homes and the school in this neighborhood will suffer from an illegal—and immoral—amount of diesel exhaust and cement dust. Adding coal to the project would add too much pollution to the controversial project, said Feller.
Because of public opposition and shortcomings in the project details, the Vallejo City Council has postponed its decision since 2015, although a vote could happen at any time.
Bay Trail/Orcem Proposal Rejected
Last month, we reported on a proposal that Orcem/VMT pay a $380,000 donation for a portion of the Bay Trail in North Vallejo as mitigation for blocking the Bay Trail at the proposed South Vallejo cement factory location. Solano County Supervisor Monica Brown contacted the Bay Trail staff to let them know that she was opposed to that proposal.
In a statement from Brown’s office in mid-June, she announced, “Bay Trail staff sent a letter to the City of Vallejo and copied my office stating that the Bay Trail was no longer supporting the proposed mitigation of allowing Orcem to cut off the south Vallejo shoreline. This means that the Orcem cement factory cannot buy its way to cutting off waterfront access to south Vallejo. Thank you to the Bay Trail staff for listening to the Vallejo community.”
