Based on serious health and safety risks to communities across California, SoCal 350 Climate Action urges the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission/Board of Supervisors to deny an expansion permit to the Phillips 66 Santa Maria refinery crude by rail operation.

Sign the Petition: Protect California: Deny Phillips 66 Santa Maria Crude By Rail Expansion

 Lac Megantic, oil train

A large swath of Lac Megantic was destroyed after a train carrying unconventional crude oil derailed, sparking several explosions, killing 47 people, destroying the downtown area and forcing the evacuation of up to 1,000.

 

A proposed Phillips 66 Oil Train offloading facility in San Luis Obispo County would bring nearly 3 million gallons per day of dangerous and explosive crude oil, including tar sands, into California. The Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report concludes that the proposed Phillips 66 rail spur would cause significant and unavoidable rail accident hazard risks along the main rail line that could result in oil spills, fires, and explosions near populated areas.

 

The Expansion Negatively Impacts California communities:

  • TOXIC CRUDE. Would ship 3 million gallons per day of volatile and toxic crude by rail in outdated and unsafe oil tank cars into California, including to and fro the Inland Empire and LA Harbor, all the way through Downtown LA and the San Fernando Valley.

 

  • BLAST ZONE. Risk to more than 5 million people statewide in one-mile evacuation area – the rail line goes to and from densely populated neighborhoods in the Los Angeles basin and right along the LA River. There have been SIX (6) major accidents in 2015 already!

 

  • FIRST RESPONDERS. Fire departments do not have sufficient equipment and supplies to respond to a catastrophic railcar derailment explosion, nor adequate emergency plans.

 

  • AIR POLLUTION. 80-car trains, 1 ½ mile long leak into the air, toxic sulfur dioxide and cancer-causing chemicals that increase health risks of heart and respiratory disease, especially in lower-income communities of color.

 

  • WATER POLLUTION. Proposed rail route brings oil trains through San Francisco Bay Delta and along California’s Central Coast, as well as along the LA River which is undergoing a $1B revitalization.

 

  • CLIMATE CHANGE. Project includes shipping the dirtiest crude oil on the planet, tar sands from Canada, which is accelerating global climate destabilization. For Southern California this includes more droughts, wildfires, extreme weather, and sea level encroachment.

 

LA River, bomb train

If the Phillips 66 Santa Maria Refinery Crude By Rail expansion is approved, Los Angeles will see an increase of “bomb trains” shipping volatile crude through the city and down the LA River.

 

Many Other Cities Oppose the Expansion:

  • Thirty-five (35) cities and counties in California, including the City of Los Angeles, have voted to formally oppose the Phillips 66 crude by rail expansion

THEREFORE, we assert the only San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission/Board of Supervisors action that would avoid this public safety risk to Los Angeles County and beyond is denial of the project. I request the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission/Board of Supervisors to deny this project a permit.