Western Railroad Discussion > Santa Maria Refinery Plan Advances

A plan by the Phillips 66 Santa Maria Refinery to build unloading tracks to accommodate oil trains narrowly cleared the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission, although a formal vote isn't expected until a September meeting.

Three of the five commission members indicated they would support a plan to run up to three oil trains a week, or 150 trains per year, to the facility on the Union Pacific's Coast Line north of Santa Barbara. The refinery originally sought to run five trains per week, but later cut it to three.

While the tentative approval is a victory for the refinery, it's not a done deal. Project opponents could appeal once the Planning Commission's approval becomes official.

Noozhawk has the story:

http://www.noozhawk.com/article/nipomo_oil_train_project_appears_headed_for_approval

Posted from iPhone

There's alot here the local Central Coast papers either missed or don't understand...

For one there isn't a single person, project pro or con, that likes the idea of seeing all those oil trucks on California State Highway 166 now, carrying oil westbound for the P66 refinery.  There also appears to be more loaded oil trucks coming down from the San Ardo area and some coming up from the south on Hwy 101.  All because the Plains All American pipeline is out of commission and will be for the foreseeable future.  I don't believe for a second that didn't play a roll in the decision, even if it was a minor one.  If the rail proposal doesn't end up going through all those oil trucks on the highways could be permanent.

The Callendar refinery can't receive crude oil via ship, but that fact seems lost on the opponents probably because of their hate for anything oil blinds them to simple common sense facts.  This is not the same situation as they have at the Valero refinery in Benicia.  That refinery has direct marine tanker access.

Refinery emission regulations will be getting tougher.  There is a group of oil companies/refiners that believe the best way to reduce emissions is via extensive blending of different grades of oil prior to the refining process.  This is why some of those same companies believe oil sands crude will not be a long term refining solution in CA.

P66 helped itself out by deciding 3 loaded trains a week, not 5, was acceptable.  There was no way the project stood a chance if P66 didn't bend on this.  5 loads a week had everybody freaking out.  3 not so much.  Of course the opponents wanted zero.

The opponents of the project, many of them residents of Monarch Dunes, are having a major cow because they thought they had the project beat.  They might still, but some local opponents have either changed their minds to pro project or have just wilted to the lengthy process and stopped caring.


Allen

 



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 05/18/16 00:14 by bradleymckay.

A central planning commision should not even exist in the first place.  The railroad tracks to and from the refinery are privately owned.  The refinery is privately owned.  Simple as that, private property.  Threatening businesses and forcing them to "prove" to the government why they should be allowed to operate is called socialism......period.  If planning boards had existed throughout our history as a nation, we would be no better off than any third world country right now.  

Right on Hoghead Mike, right on!

Dick
Roosevelt, Utah

Historically, government agencies have been the biggest and most agregious polluters worldwide.  They have no reason to clean or preserve the environment, instead handing out permits to pollute to the highest bidder and refusing to allow the companies which they dislike to operate at all. If a company were to commit harmful acts of pollution in a free market environment, they would open themselves up to lawsuites and tort claims from harmed parties.  Instead, government agencies prevent lawsuits and often protect the polluting pary from liability or cap the amount of liability that a company is subject to in court.  

Have you ever noticed that major wildfires only seem to occur on "public" or BLM land?  Forest fires rarely occur in timber reserves managed by private timber companies for the harvest of wood.  They are well managed and kept free of debris and fuel which could start a fire.  A company does NOT WANT to deplete its resources because they would lose their asset and future profit potential.  Instead they manage the asset and replant it for further use.  Clear cutting just simply isnt a long term profitable solution.  Government management, however, focuses on fighting the fire when it occures rather than preventing it in the first place.  So, every year vast forests "owned" by the blm burn and become unusable.  

Remember leaded gasoline and the environmental devastation that began to result prior to its outlaw?  Lead began to build up in oceans and water supplies and fish and everything else in the world due to tetraethyl lead additive which is a neurotoxin.  Guess who continued to back its use even after it was discovered that it was harmful?  A "central commision," more specifically, the surgeon general's office which stated that the threat was of "no effect" below a certain threshold.  

Remember asbestos?  Did you know that the US Department of the Interior produced public service videos to advertise its use during the 1950's?  (look up "asbestos, a matter of time")

Government boards generally do not prevent pollution, but rather decide who is allowed to pollute legally, rationing permission out to their friends and prefered business entities. 

rantoul Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Interent search images '1960's air pollution' and
> you will see why 'central commissions' exist.

Come on, you can't trust big business to regulate themselves!  If they can make money, they will even if there is a negative impact to people.  Look at the LA Basin today, you can see the San Gabriel mountains on most days; you couldn't in the pre-AQMD days!  Some regulation is a good thing. Sometimes big business needs a little push to do the right thing.

Peter Arnold