Coal Exports: Oakland Piles More Pollution on a Polluted Community

"For Margaret Gordon, West Oakland is home. So when she learned that a new shipping terminal would be bringing coal right through the heart of it, Gordon was angry. They’d been promised this wouldn’t happen. She joined the hundreds of residents who showed up at City Council to voice their concerns.

Gordon, founder of West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project, has spent the past 18 years rallying people around environmental issues in her neighborhood, specifically when it comes to air quality. She was concerned that the coal exports would bring even more air pollution into West Oakland, a predominantly black community already known for having worse air quality than other parts of the city.

In 2012, the West Oakland City Council authorized the construction of a new shipping terminal at the old army base. The terminal’s developer, Phil Tagami, promised that coal would not be one of the commodities shipped through it. Then Tagami brought on a contractor — Terminal Logistics Solutions — with $53 million in investment from the state of Utah, for the express purpose of sending coal to coal-burning power plants in Asia. The coal would travel by rail to the West Oakland port, potentially sending plumes of coal dust into the air and water. Now, to try to put a stop to this, a group of activists are bringing a lawsuit against the city, asking for a proper environmental review."

Raven Rakia reports for Grist October 13, 2015.

SEE ALSO:

"Coal Attorneys Investigate Oakland City Council" (East Bay Express)

"Oakland City Council Packed for Special Hearing on Controversial Coal Shipping Proposal" (Contra Costa Times)

"Environmentalists File Lawsuit To Stop Coal Being Shipped Through Oakland" (Contra Costa Times)

"Coal-Shipping Plan Divides Oakland Over Health, Jobs Issues" (San Francisco Chronicle)

"Oakland Residents Weigh In On Proposed Coal Train Terminal" (KCBS)