Over the past year, the Sierra Club has been proud to work together with Richmond residents, No Coal in Richmond, Communities for a Better Environment, the Asian Pacific Environmental Network, and Sunflower Alliance to advocate for an ordinance phasing out the storage and handling of coal and petroleum coke in Richmond. In a major victory for our community, the Richmond City Council adopted this ordinance last month, allowing the private Levin-Richmond terminal operators three years to phase out coal and petroleum coke, identify alternative commodities, and request an extension should the terminal need more time.
The Richmond coal ordinance is a huge step forward, not only for the city, but for the entire Bay Area. It will protect our air, water, and soil from toxic substances known to pose severe harm to human health and the environment. Thank you for everything you did to make this victory possible for the health and safety of the community.
The owner of the coal terminal indicated early on in the process that they would likely sue to overturn the ordinance. Unfortunately, they have now filed suit against the city along with coal mining and transport companies. The Sierra Club is fully committed to intervening in the lawsuit to help the city defend the ordinance in court, as we have in other cities with similar ordinances. In Oakland, which was sued after the city passed its own coal ordinance in 2016, the Sierra Club has been there every step of the way as legal intervenors.
While the Sierra Club — a non-profit — never claimed to have the resources to fund the city’s legal defense, we will back the City of Richmond in court as intervenors. Alongside our environmental justice allies and the hundreds of community members who spoke out in support of this ordinance, we will continue to defend the people of Richmond’s rights to regulate for the health and safety in their own city.
Rally before a hearing on the Richmond coal ordinance in 2019. Photo by Steve Nadel.