City Government

Bulk Commodity Terminal Operator Agrees to “Oakland Protocol” Phase-in Plan to Ban Coal

Published

6 years ago

October 31, 2019

Insight Terminal Solutions (ITS), future tenants and operators of the Oakland Bulk Commodity Terminal, agreed it will phase in a ban on the transportation of coal at the terminal slated for construction at the former Oakland Army Base.

The terminal will have the capacity to transport 15 million tons of coal per year. However, should the city agree to move forward with permits under a plan dubbed 5-3-0, ITS will agree to limit the transportation of coal to 5 million tons a year for the first 10 years of operation, and 3 million tons per year for the next 10 years. After the initial 20 years, ITS will not ship any coal through its terminal for the remainder of its 66-year lease.

“The phase out represents a 92 percent reduction in the amount of coal that could be shipped and eliminates coal by 2040, thereby beating the timetable in California Senate Bill 100 which would not make the state’s energy supply 100 percent carbon free until 2045” said John Siegel, ITS CEO. The phase out gives ITS time to supplement and then replace coal with a variety of bulk commodities from grain, to soda ash, to wood chips, and others, Siege explained.

Complimenting the phase out of coal is a state-of-the-art transportation system that runs from coal mines to Oakland with all commodities transported in covered rail cars and off-loaded into the Oakland terminal through a completely incapsulated system.

“No-one in Oakland will ever see, smell or breathe coal dust,” said Greg McConnell, an Oakland-based consultant for ITS.

This system, which Siegel calls the “Oakland Protocol”, takes best practices from around the world and combines them to develop a first-of-its-kind transportation system and facility. “We want the Oakland Protocol to be the way the world’s commodities are shipped and handled in the future,” Siegel said.

ITS will also create the “Oakland Initiatives Fund” to develop resources to fund programs that Oakland residents need and care about. ITS will deposit 50 cents a ton for all commodities shipped through the terminal, anticipating that an estimated $6 to $7 million every year will be generated.

“Equally important, ITS will leave decisions on how to spend the money to community representatives,” said Siegel. This commitment will be memorialized in ITS’s operating contract.

Coupled with the 400–500 construction jobs and 150 long-term union jobs, the project brings substantial benefits to the residents of Oakland. It also brings millions of dollars to the city’s general fund.

Owners of the land, Oakland Bulk Commodity Terminal (OBOT) won a lawsuit in federal court following the Oakland City Council’s attempted ban on coal in 2016. The federal judge determined that there was no health risk to residents from the transportation of coal through the project. OBOT is also suing the City of Oakland in the state court for failing to issue permits in order to get the construction of the terminal underway.

Failure to comply with the courts rulings leaves the city of Oakland vulnerable to pay OBOT hundreds of millions of dollars of liability, making a municipal bankruptcy a possibility.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

Published

4 days ago

May 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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IN MEMORIAM: Nate Holden, State Senator and Longtime Los Angeles Councilmember, Dies at 95

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.” Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Published

1 week ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Former Los Angeles Councilmember and California State Sen. Nate Holden. File photo.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Nathaniel “Nate” Holden, a prominent figure in the city’s politics, passed away at the age of 95, his family confirmed on May 7.

Holden, who represented South Los Angeles for 16 years on the City Council and served one term in the California State Senate, was widely regarded as a forceful advocate for his community.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.”

Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Holden’s journey to political prominence began in the segregated South, where he was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1929. He often recalled the childhood moment when he first heard the governor of Georgia vowing to continue suppressing Black people.

“Doing the best you can for the people. Law and order. Make sure that people’s communities are safe. I did it all,” said Holden, reflecting on his legacy.

Holden is survived by his sons, including former California Assemblymember Chris Holden, who represented a district in Southern California that includes Pasadena and Altadena in Los Angeles County and cities in San Bernardino County.

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Oakland Hosts Town Hall Addressing Lead Hazards in City Housing

According to the city, there are 22,000 households in need of services for lead issues, most in predominantly low-income or Black and Latino neighborhoods, but only 550 to 600 homes are addressed every year. The city is hoping to use part of the multimillion-dollar settlement to increase the number of households served each year.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department hosted a town hall in the Fruitvale to discuss the efforts being undertaken to remove lead primarily found in housing in East and West Oakland.

In 2021, the city was awarded $14 million out of a $24 million legal settlement from a lawsuit against paint distributors for selling lead-based paint that has affected hundreds of families in Oakland and Alameda County. The funding is intended to be used for lead poisoning reduction and prevention services in paint only, not water or other sources as has been found recently in schools across the city.

The settlement can be used for developing or enhancing programs that abate lead-based paint, providing services to individuals, particularly exposed children, educating the public about hazards caused by lead paint, and covering attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing litigation.

Most of the homes affected were built prior to 1978, and 12,000 of these homes are considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning.

City councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents a few of the lead-affected Census tracts, said the majority of the poisoned kids and families are coming directly from neighborhoods like the Fruitvale.

“When you look at the [kids being admitted] at the children’s hospital, they’re coming from this community,” Gallo said at the town hall.

In order to eventually rid the highest impacted homes of lead poisoning, the city intends to create programs and activities such as lead-based paint inspections and assessments, full abatement designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint, or partial abatement for repairs, painting, and specialized cleaning meant for temporary reduction of hazards.

In feedback for what the city could implement in their programming, residents in attendance of the event said they want more accessibility to resources, like blood testing, and information from officials about lead poisoning symptoms, hotlines for assistance, and updates on the reduction of lead in their communities.

Attendees also asked how they’d know where they are on the prioritization list and what would be done to address lead in the water found at several school sites in Oakland last year.

City staff said there will be a follow-up event to gather more community input for programming in August, with finalizations happening in the fall and a pilot launch in early 2026.