War On Coal -- New Oakland (CA) Terminal Votes To Ban Handling Coal For Overseas Shipments -- June 28, 2016

Updates

August 1, 2016: The WSJ has a nice short update of west coast war on coal. 

 

Original Post

From The Wall Street Journal:

City officials in Oakland, California, late Monday moved to block a proposal that would have made the city a gateway for Utah coal to be shipped overseas, after the issue became a political flashpoint between environmentalists and a longtime political ally to Gov. Jerry Brown.

The Oakland City Council voted to ban the handling and storage of coal and coke at the city’s terminals and bulk material facilities. The unanimous vote came after a long, packed city council meeting; advocates and opponents of the ban demonstrated outside. A second, largely procedural, vote is expected in July.

The ban aims to derail a proposed deal that would have granted four coal-producing counties in Utah rail access to a major commodities shipping terminal under development on city land, adjacent to the Port of Oakland.

The new terminal is part of a major redevelopment of an old Army Base the city hopes will bring thousands of jobs to a city that still has pockets of poverty and violence, even as the region’s tech sector booms and housing costs rise. Utah had agreed to invest $53 million in the project for the right to export its goods.

California ports in Stockton, Richmond and Long Beach export coal, but because of climate change and pollution concerns, such terminals have become highly contested on the West Coast.

Environmentalists have defeated similar proposals in Oregon and Washington.

Is there an opportunity here for Texas? With the expanded Panama Canal? Probably not.