Environment

Opinion: Coal Terminal Would Place Oakland on the Wrong Side of History

Published

9 years ago

January 8, 2016

By Margaret Gordon and Brian Beveridge

Local businessmen Phil Tagami, Omar Benjamin and Jerry Bridges are on the wrong side of history as they pursue the construction of a coal export terminal at the Oakland Global Trade and Logistics Center.

Oakland Global is the modern new cargo handling facility envisioned for the old Oakland Army Base, and few ever imagined that it might support the fossil fuel industry.

Oakland owns the property, but in its zeal to close a deal for development, the city gave sweeping authority over business activities there to Master Developer Tagami, in exchange for a fixed annual income.

Now Tagami says he has the right to generate those lease payments by any means possible, including building facilities for a failing industry like coal.

There is a national sea change in attitude on fossil fuels, as demonstrated by U.S. leadership at the recent Paris COP21 conference and ongoing public statements against coal by Gov. Brown and Mayor Libby Schaaf.

One wonders why the developer would be willing to burn political capital for a project with near universal opposition.

The answer is as old as capitalism itself, money. Tagami’s development company California Capital Investment Group (CCIG) has never had deep enough pockets for a project of the scale and complexity of Oakland Global.

The Port of Oakland has broken off negotiations with CCIG on numerous occasions for Port projects because Tagami couldn’t produce adequate financial statements.

To fill that void Tagami has brought in a series of larger development partners, including ProLogis, one of the largest logistics developers in the world.

But Prologis didn’t sign on to underwrite the entire project, only to build their own small parcel in what is called the Central Gateway. In fact, Tagami stands to make millions of dollars as overall landlord of Oakland Global for the next 66 years – if he can hold on to the deal he struck.

But despite having too much responsibility with too little resources, Tagimi’s deal shares the City’s funding woes. Financial complications abound in the deal, starting with the need to match a state transportation grant of $242 million.

With a private investment estimated at $250 million, a loose bulk commodities terminal, as facilities handling grain, gravel, ore or coal are called, would by itself cover the entire matching funds requirement.

However, there are political solutions that don’t require selling out to fossil fuel development.

CCIG hasn’t got that kind of money or the apparent business ties to get it. Enter Bridges, Benjamin, and complex links to community development money in Utah. If the Federal Department of the Interior and the State of Utah were to allow it, $53 million of mining lease rebates intended to help working communities in Utah coal mining towns could instead be used to increase health impacts on communities all along the rail line from Utah to Oakland.

Tagami, Bridges and Benjamin can then use this bucket of public money to leverage Wall Street investments in their get-rich scheme.

According to the Virginian-Pilot newspaper, former Port of Oakland Executive Director Bridges has been shopping concepts for a coal export terminal somewhere in the country ever since he left his job as chief of the Virginia Port Authority.

That Port Authority rejected the coal idea, as did a port city in Florida. A very similar coal project was rejected in Oregon just last year, but Bridges and Benjamin are now in Oakland selling something no one else wants.

Even longshore workers, who are guaranteed the few potential jobs that a coal terminal would provide, have rejected the proposal for health and safety reasons.

Things have changed. Oakland no longer has to accept reject ideas. We’re not that broke any more. The Oakland economic Renaissance may bring its own problems of equity and opportunity, but we’re no longer holding out the begging-bowl to profiteers.

Oakland is an economic attraction on its way to being a new regional powerhouse. Emerging green tech industries don’t want to share the streets with dusty 19^th Century dinosaurs like fossil fuel.

The Port of Oakland has signed lucrative deals to develop bulk grain and frozen food export facilities. Coal has no place in their business mix.

The amazing thing about this coal proposal is how it has galvanized opposition between groups in the region who don’t always see eye-to-eye: Big environmental groups, local grassroots coalitions, organized labor and the faith community all say we must put the health and safety of our communities ahead of money.

Margaret Gordon and Brian Beveridge are co-directors of the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project (WOEIP).

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Chevron Richmond Installs Baker Hughes Flare.IQ, Real-time Flare Monitoring, Control and Reduction System

While the sight of flaring can cause concern in the community, flares are essential safety systems that burn pollutants to prevent them from being released directly into the atmosphere. They activate during startup and shut-down of facility units or during upsets or equipment malfunctions. The typical flare stack is about 200 feet high so that vapors are well above street levels.

Published

4 weeks ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Image courtesy The Richmond Standard.

The Richmond Standard

Chevron Richmond recently installed flare.IQ, a real-time, automated system that will improve the facility’s flaring performance.

The technology, developed by Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business, uses sensors to monitor, reduce and control flaring in real time. It collects and assesses data on refinery processes, such as temperature, pressure, gas flow and gas composition, and adjusts accordingly to ensure flares burn more efficiently and cleanly, leading to fewer emissions.

“The cleaner the flare, the brighter the flame can look,” said Duy Nguyen, a Chevron Richmond flaring specialist. “If you see a brighter flame than usual on a flare, that actually means flare.IQ is operating as intended.”

“A key element in Baker Hughes’ emissions abatement portfolio, flare.IQ has a proven track record in optimizing flare operations and significantly reducing emissions,” said Colin Hehir, vice president of Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business. “By partnering with Chevron Richmond, one of the first operators in North America to adopt flare.IQ, we are looking forward to enhancing the plant’s flaring operations.”

The installation of flare.IQ is part of a broader and ongoing effort by Chevron Richmond to improve flare performance, particularly in response to increased events after the new, more efficient hydrogen plant was brought online in 2019.

Since then, the company has invested $25 million — and counting — into flare minimization. As part of the effort, a multidisciplinary refinery team was formed to find and implement ways to improve operational reliability and ultimately reduce flaring. Operators and other employees involved in management of flares and flare gas recovery systems undergo new training.

“It is important to me that the community knows we are working hard to lower emissions and improve our flaring performance,” Nguyen said.

Also evolving is the process by which community members are notified of flaring incidents. The Community Warning System (CWS), operated by Contra Costa County is an “all-hazard” public warning system.

Residents can opt-in to receive alerts via text, e-mail and landline. The CWS was recently expanded to enable residents to receive notifications for “Level 1” incidents, which are considered informational as they do not require any community action.

For more information related to these topics, check out the resources included on the Chevron Richmond, CAER and Contra Costa Health websites. Residents are also encouraged to follow @chevronrichmond and @RFDCAOnline on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where additional information may be posted during an incident.

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Activism

Asm. McKinnor Pushes Bill to Protect California Workers from High Heat, Other Climate Hazards

“Extreme heat is on the rise, with year-over-year, record-breaking temperatures that threaten the health and safety of California workers, from warehouse workers who lack adequate cooling, to janitors cleaning buildings after the air conditioning has been turned off, to line chefs cooking in unventilated kitchens,” McKinnor said at the rally.

Published

4 weeks ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Asm. Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) stands with members of California Labor for Climate Justice (CLCJ) during a rally at the State Capitol, where she spoke about her bill, AB 694. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.

By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌, ‌California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

On May 6, employees from industries across the private and public sectors — including utility, domestic, janitorial, healthcare, oil and gas, and farm workers — joined educators and others in Sacramento to push lawmakers to strengthen the state’s health and safety enforcement systems.

The rally at the State Capitol was organized by a statewide coalition of 15 worker unions called California Labor for Climate Jobs (CLCJ).

Organizers say their campaign to pressure legislators and state officials to not abandon their responsibility to protect workers is urgent as climate hazards rise and federal government efforts to pull back on oversight and enforcement increase.

“Approximately 19 million workers in the state are here together to have a say in what happens next,” said Norman Rogers, vice president of United Steelworkers Local 675. “In seven of the last eight years, California has recorded record-high temperatures while workers from our state’s fields to our commercial kitchens, from our warehouses to our schools continue to work in dangerously high-heat conditions.”

Cal/OSHA provides protection and improves the health and safety of working men and women in the state. The agency also enforces public safety measures to protect passengers riding on elevators, amusement rides, tramways, and more.

According to a 2023 report by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), workplace hazards are responsible for killing approximately 140,000 workers each year, including 5,283 from traumatic injuries.

Hazardous working conditions have caused an estimated 135,000 deaths from occupational diseases. That’s about 385 workers dying each day, according to the report.

Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) spoke at the rally to discuss legislation she authored, Assembly Bill (AB) 694, which proposes a pathway to jobs for Cal/OSHA to ensure stronger public safety enforcement.

According to CLCJ, Cal/OSHA is experiencing an understaffing crisis that is evident in the agency’s 43% vacancy rate.

McKinnor, a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), said the bill aims to fully staff the state agency with enforcement agents who have expertise in working in California’s most dangerous work environments.

The Assembly Committee on Higher Education voted 9-0 to advance AB 694 on April 29. It is now headed to the Committee on Appropriations for consideration.

McKinnor continued, “We must urgently shore up our health and safety systems, so we can enforce California heat standards and safeguard worker health.”

CLCJ released the California Worker Climate Bill of Rights last fall, urging state legislators to propose policy solutions to protect workers from climate hazards such as extreme heat, fires, smoke, and floods.

Norman Rogers, Second Vice President of United Steelworkers Local 675 in Carson, said oil refinery operations around the state pose “the most hazards.

“AB 694 seeks to recreate Cal/OSHA to hire union oil and gas workers leveraging the knowledge, health and safety training, and process safety training used daily to ensure safe, compliant refinery operations,” Rogers added.

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Activism

Gov. Newsom Approves $170 Million to Fast Track Wildfire Resilience

AB 100 approves major investments in regional conservancies across the state, including over $30 million each for the Sierra Nevada, Santa Monica Mountains, State Coastal, and San Gabriel/Lower LA Rivers and Mountains conservancies. An additional $10 million will support wildfire response and resilience efforts.

Published

2 months ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Courtesy of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Facebook page.

By Bo Tefu
California Black Media

With wildfire season approaching, last week Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 100, unlocking $170 million to fast-track wildfire prevention and forest management projects — many of which directly protect communities of color, who are often hardest hit by climate-driven disasters.

“With this latest round of funding, we’re continuing to increase the speed and size of forest and vegetation management essential to protecting communities,” said Newsom when he announced the funding on April 14.

“We are leaving no stone unturned — including cutting red tape — in our mission to ensure our neighborhoods are protected from destructive wildfires,” he said.

Newsom also signed an executive order suspending certain regulations to allow urgent work to move forward faster.

This funding builds on California’s broader Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, a $2.7 billion effort to reduce fuel loads, increase prescribed burning, and harden communities. The state has also launched new dashboards to keep the public informed and hold agencies accountable.

California has also committed to continue investing $200 million annually through 2028 to expand this effort, ensuring long-term resilience, particularly in vulnerable communities.