Stop the Bomb Trains

Benicia’s City Council is about to make a decision that could put our communities at risk. Valero Energy Corporation wants to build an oil-by-rail terminal at their Benicia refinery — meaning more dangerous oil trains coming through the Bay Area.

If approved, this terminal would allow trains carrying over 2.5 million gallons of toxic, explosive crude oil to travel through the area every day. We don’t need more fossil fuel infrastructure that puts communities and our climate at risk. Greenlighting fossil fuel infrastructure is the last thing our cities should be doing.

On February 11th, the Benicia Planning Commission voted unanimously to deny Valero’s dangerous plan, but Valero has appealed that decision to the City Council and is trying to rush through a reversal. The Benicia City Council will hear public comment on Valero’s appeal on April 4th. We know Valero is putting lots of pressure on the City Council to approve their project — that’s why we need to make sure City decision makers know that residents from across the region are watching.

• Carpools: We’re setting up carpools from the East Bay & Davis. Sign up to be a driver or passenger here.

We need to protect our communities and our climate. We need to stop this project once and for all.

City Council Agenda (sole) item:

Open the public hearing and solicit public comment. After public testimony at this meeting:

1. Add an additional hearing date of April 18, 2016

At the following meeting(s), Staff recommends the City Council continue to take public

comment, consider all appropriate documents and testimony, and then consider the

following actions:

1. Consider and reject the applicant’s request for continuance.

2. Deny the appeal and uphold the Planning Commission’s unanimous decision to deny

certification for the EIR and to deny the Use Permit; or

3. Decline to certify the EIR and provide specific comments on the deficiencies of the EIR

and direction on what needs to be improved in the EIR and remand back to Staff with

direction to return to Council with the EIR and Use Permit; or

2

4. Uphold the appeal and

i. Adopt the draft Resolution certifying the Final Environmental Impact Report, adopting

CEQA findings for the Project and adopt the Statement of Overriding Considerations and

the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program and

ii. Uphold the appeal and adopt the draft Resolution approving the Use Permit for the

Valero Crude by Rail Project, with the findings and conditions listed in the resolution.