September 13, 2013 EIR Scoping Period Comment Commenter Date Received Letter
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Valero Crude by Rail Project Public Comments received August 9 - September 13, 2013 EIR Scoping Period Comment Commenter Date Received Letter ............ .'.: ... '··.·.·.·.i·.....·.·"....·.··.... ..... >.; ....••.......• ::.;.;., •... '" ................ ..•. ••. ..• .•... "...•.. i •. .•·.i ......... ...... Al California Public Utlities Commission, Ken Chiang, P.E. Ulilities Engineer 28-Aug-13 A2 Linda Scourtis, Bay Area Conservation and Development Commission 3-Sep-13 A3 Caltans, Erik Aim, District Branch Chief, Local Oeve!opment~lntergovernmenta! Review 6-Sep-13 . .... .'. OiganizBtl()n~·.·.... •.•....• ••.••• ••.•. .•...•. .i/<'.' •..... '.>. ,... .... .......•••••.. '.........•.•.•............... ' ..... Bl INatural Resources Defense Council 13-Sep-13 .·/··· ••·.·.··;)·\·,.· .•. • •• ··.··.·r> ·•·••• ···.··i·/.·.·· ..y•............ ·C/;{··.·(·.···...••. L• .•.....•.. <.•., .•.....•..••.•••............ > •. C1 Grant Cooke 13-Aug-13 C2 Roger Straw 19-Aug-13 C3 Roger Straw 21-Aug-13 C4 Dennis Lewis 26-Aug-13 C5 Rick Slizeski 11-Sep-13 C6 Kathy Kerridge 12-Sep-13 C7 Roger Straw 12-Sep-13 C8 Clark Driggars 12-Sep-13 C9 Roger Straw J Mary Frances Kelly Poh 12-Sep-13 Cl0 Mary Frances Kelly Poh 13-Sep-13 Cl1 Milton Kalish 13-Sep-13 C12 Marilyn 8ardet 13-Sep-13 C13 Donald Dean 13-Sep-13 C14 Charles Davidson 13-Sep-13 C15 Lynne NUtter and Richard McAdam 13-Sep-13 C16 Ed Ruszel 13-Sep-13 C17 Judith S. Sullivan 13-Sep-13 STATE OF CALIFORNIA EDMUND G. BROWN JR .• Governor PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION 320 WEST 4TH STREET, SUITE 500 lOS ANGELES, CA 90013 (213) 576-7083 July 2, 2013 Charlie Knox City of Benicia 250 E. L Street Benicia, California 94510 Dear Mr. Knox: Re: SCH# 2013052074; Valero Crude Oil by Rail Project, Valero Benicia Refinery DMND The California Public Utilities Commission (Commission) has jurisdiction over the safety of highway-rail crossings (crossings) in California. The California Public Utilities Code requires the Commission approval for construction or alteration of crossings and grants the Commission exclusive power on design, alteration, and/or closure of crossings in California. The Commission's Rail Crossings Engineering Section (RCES) has received a copy of the draft Mitigated Negative Declaration (Land Use Permit Application) from the State Clearinghouse for the proposed Valero Crude by Rail Project. The City of Benicia (City) is the lead agency. According to the Land Use Permit Application, Valero Benicia Refinery proposes to construct two (2) offloading rail spurs, a parallel engine runaround track and a "wye connector" track on the refinery property to allow receipt of rail cars at the offloading racks. The traffic associated with the project would be two freight trains per day. These proposed tracks will be connected to the existing Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) tracks. The proposed project would affect the existing at-grade highway-rail crossing at Park Road (CPUC # 001-37.32-C) and near Bayshore Road. The potential project impacts on the existing and proposed at-grade crossings along the tracks which serve or are near the Valero Benicia Refinery should be identified, discussed and evaluated for necessary safety improvements and mitigations. This includes considering traffic queuing, weaving, emergency service response, pedestrian circulation patterns or destinations with respect to railroad right-of-way, and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Mitigation measures to consider include, but are not limited to, the planning for grade separations for major thoroughfares, improvements to existing at-grade highway-rail crossings due to increase in traffic volumes and continuous vandal resistant fencing or other appropriate barriers to limit the access of trespassers onto the railroad right-of-way. All identified crossings shall also comply with the requirements of California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. The new tracks shall be constructed in accordance with the Commission General Order (GO) Nos. 26-0 (Clearance on railroads and street railroads as to side and overhead structures, parallel tracks and crossings), 72-B (Construction and maintenance - standard Charlie Knox Page 2 of2 July 2,2013 types of pavement construction at railroad grade crossings) and 75-0 (Warning devices for at-grade railroad crossings). Construction of a new public crossing or modification of an existing public crossing requires authorization from the Commission, through the formal application or the General Order (GO) 88-B request processes, respectively. Prior to submission of a formal application or GO 88-B request, the City should arrange a diagnostic meeting with RCES and UPRR to discuss relevant safety issues and requirements for the Commission's authorization. While construction of private crossings may not need the Commission's authorization, compliance with the Commission's GO 26-0 (Clearances on Railroads and Street Railroads as to Side and Overhead Structures, Parallel Tracks and Crossings) and GO 75- B (Regulations Governing Standards for Waming Devices for At-Grade Highway-Rail Crossing) standards are still required. RCES representatives are available for consultation on crossing safety matters. See the link for more information: http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/safety/Rail/Crossingslindex.htm. If you have any questions in this matter, please contact Ken Chiang at (213) 576-7076, [email protected], or Daniellia Fristoe at (916) 928-2108, [email protected]. Ken Chiang, P.E. Utilities Engineer Rail Crossings Engineering Section Safety and Enforcement Division C: State Clearinghouse Daniellia Fristoe August 30, 2013 Ms. Amy Million Community Development Department 250 East L Street Benicia, CA 94510 SUBJECT: Notice of Preparation for Valero Crude by Rail Project BCDC Inquiry File SL.BN.6927.1; SCH#: 2013052074 Dear Ms. Million: Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Notice of Preparation (NOP) of an Environmental Impact Report for the Valero Crude by Rail Project (EIR). Although the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (Commission) has not reviewed the document, the following are staff comments based on our review of the NOP in the context of the Commission's authority under the McAteer-Petris Act (California Government Code Sections 66600 et seq.) and the federal Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA). The Commission exercises permitting authority over San Francisco Bay to the line of mean high tide, including all sloughs and marshlands lying between mean hlgh tide and five feet above mean sea level. The Commission also has jurisdiction within a shoreline band between the edge of the Bay and a line 100 feet landward and parallel to the shoreline. Any person or government agency wishing to place fill, extract materials, or make any substantial change in use to any land, water or structure within the Commission's jurisdiction requires a permit from the Commission. The Commission can issue a permit if the proposed project is consistent with the McAteer-Petris Act and the provisions of the San Francisco Bay Plan (Bay Plan). The Commission also designates certain shoreline areas for uses that must be located on the waterfront, such as ports and water-related industry (which includes the shipment of crude oil and related products), so as to avoid potential filling of the Bay to accommodate water-related uses where the waterfront has been developed for uses that do not require a shoreline location. According to your letter to Jaime Michaels of our staff dated August 9,2013, the project is located outside our "shoreline band" permit jurisdiction; however, the refinery is located within a water-related industry priority use area as shown on Bay Plan Map 2. Under the CZMA, in the event a federal permit, license or federal funding is provided the proposed project, the Commission has the authority to determine whether the activity is consistent with its law and policies. If there will be any such federal involvement associated with the project, the project proponent should contact our Chief of Permits, Bob Batha. " We would be particularly interested to know the status of contingency planning in the event of an accident, whereby the crtlde, or any petroleum product, carried by.rail could adversely affect the coastal zone, particularly in light of the proximity of the rail track to a marsh and wildlife refuge priority use area (see Bay J.>lan Map 2). We.notethat the EIR will include an evaluation and comparison of risks associated with rail and tanker vessel transport, and look forward to this discussion. Please contact me at 415.352-3644 or [email protected] should you have any questions. Sincerely, ~~ LINDA SCOURTIS Coastal Planner cc: Katie Shulte Ioung, State Clearinghouse Slate of Califomia • SAN FRANCISCO BAY CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION .. Edmund G. Brown Jr.. Governor 50 California Street, Suite 2600 • San Francisco, Califomla 94111 • (415) 352·3600 • Fax: (415) 352·3606 .. [email protected] • WM'/,bcdc.ca.gov STATE OFCALlFORNIA CALIFORNIA STATE TRANSPORTATION AGENCY EDMUND G. BROWN Jr.. GOvernor DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION III GRAND AVENUE ~ P. O. BOX 23660 OAKLAND, CA 94623·0660 ~ Flex your power} PHONE (510) 286·6053 Be energy efJlciellt.' FAX (510) 286·5559 TIY711 September 4, 2013 SOL680059 SOL-680-R2.58 SCH#20 13052074 Ms. Amy Million City of Benicia 250 East L Street Benicia CA 94510 Dear Ms. Million: Valero Crude by Rail! Notice of Preparation Thank you for including the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in the environmental review