Marin leaders intensify coal freight counteroffensive
Marin County representatives are taking action this week to challenge a potential proposal to ship coal by rail through Marin and several northern California counties.
A filing submitted last month to the nation’s top rail regulator, the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, aims to upend California’s years long efforts to convert the mostly defunct 300-mile North Coast railroad between Marin and Humboldt counties into a trail network called the Great Redwood Trail.
However, the recently formed North Coast Railroad Co. LLC of Wyoming submitted a filing to the federal board stating that it had $1.2 billion available that it could use to restore the railway “to support future, high volume traffic flows.”
North Coast representatives, including state Sen. Mike McGuire and U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, have stated the company aims to ship large quantities of coal from states such as Montana and Wyoming through the North Coast and ship it overseas from the port at Humboldt Bay.
This week, McGuire introduced a bill, SB 305, that would keep the state from funding any action to restore rail service north of Willits in Mendocino County.
“This critical bill will ban any state funding from being invested to improve the rail line for coal shipments north of Willits and it bans any state funding to buildout a potential coal storage terminal at the Port of Humboldt,” McGuire said. “No way, no how are we going to let this happen.”
State officials have estimated restoration of the railroad would cost close to $2.5 billion, but the North Coast Railroad Co. challenged that estimate in its filing.
McGuire, D-Healdsburg, also authored the 2018 legislation that began the process to dissolve the rail corridor’s longtime, but financially troubled, caretaker — the North Coast Railroad Authority. The legislation began the process to convert the railroad into the Great Redwood Trail.
To do this, the state is seeking federal approval to railbank large sections of the railway, including along the Eel River Valley north of Willits where the track is heavily degraded. Railbanking retains the railway but allows the rail corridor to be used for alternative purposes such as trails.
The Legislature recently passed SB 69, a McGuire bill aiming to dissolve the North Coast Rail Authority and transfer the rail ownership and right of way to a new Great Redwood Trail Agency and to Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit, known as SMART.
The state gave SMART $4 million to acquire the North Bay freight hauling operations from the Northwestern Pacific Railroad Co. earlier this year. The company has hauled freight between Napa and Windsor since 2011. The commuter rail agency also took ownership of the railroad from Healdsburg to the border of Sonoma and Mendocino counties.
The North Coast Railroad Co. states in its filing that the Surface Transportation Board is obligated to prioritize the continuation of rail service as opposed to railbanking.
In an initial discussion on the company’s proposal this month, SMART board members expressed alarm at the prospect of freight cars of coal passing through Marin and Sonoma counties.
“We will use any and every tool we have in our tool chest to thwart this effort,” said Eric Lucan, a SMART board member and Novato councilman.
“It seems like a massive step backward in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which we take very seriously and have been working very hard on and making huge investments,” said board chairman David Rabbitt, a Sonoma County supervisor.
The board is also seeking more information on what it powers it has as the new owner of North Coast freight hauling operations to thwart any coal shipping proposal that might emerge. Farhad Mansourian, SMART’s general manager, told the board the staff has received no formal proposals or correspondence.
“From our point of view, nothing is in front of us,” Mansourian told the board. “If and when such a proposal does materialize then I will make sure your board knows immediately.”
Meanwhile, other local Marin agencies and government officials might file opposition against coal shipping through the region. The Transportation Authority of Marin, the state-led congestion management agency for the county, plans to vote on a resolution opposing the project during its Board of Commissioners hearing at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Anne Richman, the authority’s executive director, said there are several reasons for opposing the project, including its support for the Great Redwood Trail effort. Richman said there are also concerns of the overall environmental impacts of coal traveling through Marin County and other sensitive habitats such as the Eel River Valley.
“TAM taking this position is just a way to let them know that, at least in terms of the community, there is not unanimous support to this and that people are paying attention,” Richman said.
The Marin County Board of Supervisors also plans to consider a similar resolution, according to Supervisor Damon Connolly.
Attorneys for the railroad company could not be reached for comment.
By: Will Houston
Source: Marin Independent Journal
Next Article Previous Article