A Utah proposal to invest more than $50 million in taxpayer funds for a coal shipping facility at the Port of Oakland cleared that state’s Legislature on Thursday and is on its way to the governor’s desk.
Terminal Logistics Solutions wants to build a $250 million bulk commodities terminal at the former Oakland Army Base located on the Outer Harbor south of the Bay Bridge toll plaza. Local lawmakers, including state Sen. Loni Hancock (D-Oakland), have expressed concern that the facility could be used to receive rail cars of coal for shipment to Asia.
In a prepared statement Thursday, Cesia Kearns of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign said, “Now that Utah has committed to subsidizing the risky coal export scheme cooked up between investment banker and former Utah Department of Transportation Chair Jeff Holt and private Oakland developer Phil Tagami, it’s up to the Oakland City Council to act quickly to stop this dangerous proposal to ship coal through Oakland.”