graftonian
1,089 posts
msg #137961
- Ignore graftonian |
9/4/2017 2:22:15 PM
I was born in CA in 1940, all was good until 1949 when we neglected to build a fence around the place.
Moved away in 1988, and every day I read something that re-inforces that decision.
The latest:
US West Coast bulker trades specialising in coal are facing yet another hurdle with the decision by California to ban state funding of new coal terminals.
Californian governor Jerry Brown, who signed the legislation into law on 26 August, said the action was necessary to help move away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy.
“Last year, coal exports from California ports declined by more than one-third, from 4.65 million to 2.96 million tonnes,” Brown said on signing the act. “That’s a positive trend we need to build on.”
The trend is not as positive for West Coast bulk coal transport, which was dealt a major blow earlier this year when the US Army Corps of Engineers ruled against SSA Marine’s USD665 million Gateway Pacific Terminal in Cherry Point, Washington. The proposed terminal would have been used by up to 450 Panamax and Capesize vessels a year.
Arch Coal, a backer of another proposed bulk coal terminal in the Pacific Northwest, is currently undergoing Chapter 11 reorganisation. Its Millennium Bulk Terminal, which it proposed would export up to 44 million tonnes of coal and load an average of 840 vessels a year, faces strong opposition by environmentalists.
Specifically, the new law prohibits the California Transportation Commission from allocating any state funds for new bulk coal terminal projects proposed on or after 1 January 2017. It will require terminal project grantees to report annually to the commission that the project is not being used to handle, store, or transport coal in bulk.
The Global Trade and Logistics Complex, a major new transportation hub under development at the former Oakland Army Base, was to have included a bulk coal terminal. However, the City of Oakland voted in June to ban the transport and storage of large coal shipments, which effectively shot down the coal facility.
The California law targets expansion at other California ports as well, specifically the ports of Richmond, Stockton, and Long Beach, through which about 1 million tonnes of export coal were transported by rail from mines in Utah.
“Other localities should follow suit – and the state should too – to reduce and, ultimately, eliminate the shipment of coal through all California ports,” Brown said. US West Coast coal trades face yet another hurdle after California decides to ban state funding of new coal terminals.
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