Resolution 2016-10RESOLUTION NO. 2016-10
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
GILROY OPPOSING THE TRANSPORTATION OF CRUDE OIL BY
RAIL, SPECIFICALLY THE PHILLIPS 66 RAIL SPUR EXTENSION
PROJECT AND CRUDE OIL UNLOADING FACILITY IN SAN LUIS
OBISPO COUNTY, AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND CITY
ADMINISTRATOR TO SEND A LETTER OF OPPOSITION
WHEREAS, California refineries are in the process of securing permits to build rail terminals to
import Canadian tar sands and Bakken crude oils from the Dakotas; and
WHEREAS, existing rail terminals are securing permits to import Canadian tar sands and
Bakken crude oils to the existing Santa Maria Refinery in central California; and
WHEREAS, the proposed Rail Spur Project (the "Project ") is designed to accommodate trains
carrying approximately 80 train cars of crude oil to the refinery at any one time; and
WHEREAS, the Project is currently before San Luis Obispo County for approval, and trains
delivering crude oil for the Project would use Union Pacific Railroad ( "UPRR ") rail tracks through City
of Gilroy (the "City ") and Santa Clara County (the "County "); and
WHEREAS, for the first time, United States Energy Information Administration ( "EIA ") is
providing monthly data on rail movements of crude oil, which have significantly increased over the
past five years; and
WHEREAS, the new data on crude -by -rail movements are integrated with EIA's existing
monthly petroleum supply statistics, which already include movements by pipeline, tanker, and
barge; and
WHEREAS, the new monthly time series of crude oil rail movements includes shipments to
and from Canada and dramatically reduces the absolute level of unaccounted for volumes in EIA's
monthly balances for each region; and
WHEREAS, crude oil, like that coming from the Bakken shale reservoir, is known to be
volatile, highly flammable, and contain elevated concentrations of benzene, a potent carcinogen;
and
WHEREAS, tar sands crude or bitumen is known to be an extremely viscous form of
petroleum that will not flow unless heated or diluted with other lighter hydrocarbons that include
toxic substances, and is known to be extremely difficult to clean up when spills occur, especially in
aquatic ecosystems; and
WHEREAS, almost 500,000 carloads of crude oil were transported by rail in 2014, up from
RESOLUTION NO. 2016-10
9,500 in 2008; and
WHEREAS, crude oil now accounts for 1.6% of total carloads for U.S. railroads, according
to the Association of American Railroads; and
WHEREAS, this statistic is accompanied by a similar rise in spectacular accidents, 143
incidents in 2014 alone affecting 21 states and 57,600 gallons of oil spilled; and
WHEREAS, more crude oil was spilled in U.S. rail accidents in 2014 than in the preceding
four decades; and
WHEREAS, rail incidents involving crude oil jumped nearly sixteen fold between 2010 and
2014, and the rise in crashes accompanies the burgeoning rail traffic from North Dakota's Bakken
shale to points all over North America; and
WHEREAS, oil train accidents spread from 8 states in 2010 to 21 states in 2014, according to
the consulting firm Clear View Energy Partners' analysis of data from the U.S. Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration; and
WHEREAS, rail incidents are still happening in 2015, including the fiery derailments recently
in Mount Carbon, West Virginia, and Galena, Illinois; and
WHEREAS, both of these incidents involved the newer CPC 1232 cars initially proposed as a
safer alternative to the DOT -111 cars involved in other accidents, such as the deadly derailment and
crash in Lac- Megantic, Quebec in July 2013, that killed 47 people, and caused over $1 billion in
damages; and
WHEREAS, in July 2010, Enbridge Energy Partners LL, reported a 30 -inch tar sands oil
pipeline burst that caused more than 1 million gallons of tar sands to flow into Michigan's
Kalamazoo River and, in June 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice has lodged a proposed
Consent Decree on behalf of federal, state, and tribal natural resource trustees to resolve natural
resource damage claims arising from this incident; and
WHEREAS, in 2015, there was a 20 -car oil train derailment in rural eastern Montana spilling
35,000 gallons of crude oil; a 109 -car crude train derailment in North Dakota causing six cars to
catch fire and an estimated 60,000 gallons of oil to spill; a 21 -car train derailment (of a 103 tank car)
resulting in at least 5 cars rupturing and causing fires and wreckage to burn for several days and
threatening a tributary to the Mississippi River and the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish
Refuge, which is one of the most complex ecosystems in North America; and a 27 -car crude oil train
car derailment in West Virginia with 19 train cars catching fire and spilling oil into the Kanawha
River; and
WHEREAS, the operation unit and manifest trains to and from the refinery would be performed
UPRR on UPRR property, with trains entering California at five different locations (one at the north
end of the state from Oregon, two at the northeast from Nevada, one at the southeast from Nevada, and
one from the south from Arizona); and
RESOLUTION NO. 2016-10
WHEREAS, depending upon the route taken by the train, the trains would arrive at the refinery
from the north or south; and
WHEREAS, according to the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report ( "DEIR ") from San
Luis Obispo County for the Project, it is unknown what route UPRR would use to deliver the trains to
the refinery; and
WHEREAS, if the northern route is used to deliver the crude oil to the refinery, the trains would
travel through portions of unincorporated County areas and cities, including Milpitas, San Jose,
Morgan Hill, and Gilroy, as shown on Exhibit A, attached hereto and incorporated herein, which are
maps of the major UPRR routes and property in the County; and
WHEREAS, if the northern route is used to deliver the crude oil to the Project, the oil trains
would travel adjacent to areas of the County that are densely populated, as shown on Exhibit B,
attached hereto and incorporated herein; and
WHEREAS, if the northern route is used, the trains carrying crude oil would use portions of
the same UPRR track in south County that is also used by Caltrains on a daily basis to transport
visitors and residents to points in the County and points north in San Mateo and San Francisco
Counties; and
WHEREAS, trains delivering crude oil traveling through the Bay Area will follow routes
adjacent to densely populated areas and the San Francisco Bay Estuary and its tributaries, posing a
serious threat to this ecosystem which is considered a biodiversity hotspot, sustaining significant
aquatic and estuarine species and habitat, and is a treasured icon for millions of Bay Area residents;
and
WHEREAS, trains delivering crude oil traveling through the Bay Area will follow routes
adjacent to the Sacramento River and the Sacramento -San Joaquin Delta, posing a serious threat to the
water supply for most of California; and
WHEREAS, hauling crude oil into California involves traversing some of the most challenging
mountain passes in the nation, areas laced with earthquake faults and numerous unsafe old steel and
timber bridges over major waterways, greatly increasing the probability of serious accidents; and
WHEREAS, the Revised DEIR concludes that the potential for a crude oil unit train to derail
would increase the risk to the public in the vicinity of the UPRR right of way and the operation of
crude oil trains on the UPRR tracks would increase the demand for fire protection and emergency
response services along the rail routes, and that the increased risk of accident and the increase demand
on fire protection and emergency response services is a significant and unavoidable impact of the
Project; and
WHEREAS, the Revised DEIR also concludes that operational activities of trains along
the UPRR mainline route outside of San Luis Obispo County would generate criteria pollution
emissions that exceed thresholds, and that these impacts are significant and unavoidable; and
RESOLUTION NO. 2016-10
4
WHEREAS, the National Transportation Safety Board, as a result of recent catastrophic crude
oil accidents, made recommendations to federal agencies to improve rail safety regulations for the
transport of crude oil, including requirements for comprehensive worst -case scenario emergency
response plans and requirements for testing and documenting the physical and chemical
characteristics of hazardous materials being offered for shipment by rail; and
WHEREAS, analysis from the United States Department of Transportation of the risks
associated with crude oil shipments in the United States projected that trains carrying oil would derail
an average of ten times a year over the next two decades, causing more than $4 billion in damages, and
also projects that if just one of these projected derailments occurred in a high - population area in the
United States, it could kill more than 200 people and cause approximately $6 billion in damages; and
WHEREAS, the County's population of nearly 1.8 million is one of the largest in the State,
following Los Angeles, San Diego, and Orange Counties and the largest of the nine Bay Area
counties, constituting about one fourth of the Bay Area's total population and a train derailment
within the County would cause great harm to the County's residents, environment, and economy; and
WHEREAS, the activities allowed under this Resolution do not constitute a project under the
provisions of California Environmental Quality Act of 1970; and
WHEREAS, the City Council determines that adoption of this Resolution is in the public
interest.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
GILROY DOES HEREBY FIND, DETERMINE, RESOLVE AND ORDER AS
FOLLOWS:
Sectionl.
Recitals. The City Council does hereby find, determine and resolve that all of the foregoing
recitals are true and correct.
Section 2.
Approval and Authorization. The City Council does further resolve, order and/or direct as follows:
1. That the City Council hereby formally opposes the Phillips 66 Rail Extension and
Crude Oil Unloading Facility Project (the "Project ") and opposes using existing Union
Pacific Rail Road lines to transport crude oil for the Project through the City of Gilroy
and other densely populated cities in Santa Clara County and adjacent habitat and
agricultural areas; and
2. That the Mayor and City Administrator are hereby authorized to send the letter,
attached hereto as Exhibit C, to the County Board of Supervisors of San Luis Obispo
joining other agencies by expressing opposition of the Project.
RESOLUTION NO. 2016-10
Section 3.
This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 1St day of February, 2016, by the following roll call vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: AULMAN, BRACCO, HARNEY, LEROE-
MUNOZ, TUCKER, VELASCO and
WOODWARD
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
APPROVED:
t"t�x�
Mayor
RESOLUTION NO. 2016-10
COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA
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City of Gilroy
Mayor's Office
City Hall
7351 Rosanna Street
Gilroy, California
95020 -6197
The Honorable Ken Topping
Chairperson, County of San Luis Obispo Planning Commission
976 Osos Street, Room 300
San Luis Obispo, CA 93408
Dear Chairperson Topping:
Perry Woodward, Mayor
perry.woodwarck& ci.gilroy ca.us
City Hall Office (408) 846 -0227
Cell Phone (408)891 -9204
www.c ityof gilroy.o xg
February 2, 2016
On behalf of the Gilroy City Council, we write to express our opposition to the proposed Phillips 66 Company Rail Spur
Extension and Crude Oil Unloading Facility Project (Santa Maria Rail Spur Project).
The Santa Maria Rail Spur Project is located in San Luis Obispo County and would provide an extension of an existing rail
spur for the delivery of crude oil to Phillips 66's Santa Maria Refinery facility for processing. As outlined in the Draft
Environmental Impact Report (DEIR), the Santa Maria Rail Spur Project would involve unloading up to five unit trains per
week, with a 250 annual maximum number of trains. Each unit train would include up to 80 rail cars, with each carrying
between 26,076 and 28,105 gallons for a total barrels of crude oil per train ranging between 49,670 and 53,532 barrels.
Operation of the trains to and from the refinery would be performed by Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) on its tracks, and
on trains operated by UPRR employees. The DEIR indicates that trains would arrive at the Santa Maria Refinery from the
north or south and it is unknown which route UPRR would use to deliver the trains.
The City of Gilroy has a direct interest in the Santa Maria Rail Spur Project as trains arriving at the refinery from the
north would travel directly though our City.
The environmental hazards and community risks associated with oil transportation, particularly in densely populated
urban areas, are significant. Shipping hazardous materials is inherently dangerous due to the risk of possible spill,
explosion, and /or fire and subsequent environmental contamination. Federal agencies have documented a significant
increase in the number of rail accidents involving oil rail cars in the United States in recent years. According to the U.S.
Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), more oil was spilled in
train accidents in the United States in 2013 than in the previous 38 years combined.
Air quality in our City would be adversely affected by pollutant emissions from the mainline rail operations. In fact, the
DEIR states, "mainline emissions would exceed most other air district thresholds." This situation is exacerbated by the
lower speed at which trains move through highly populated areas, which includes a significant portion of the route
through our City. Lower speeds must be used in such areas and more emissions occur due to the slower speed.
The safety and health of our City's residents would be threatened if the Santa Maria Rail Spur Project is built and
becomes operational. Additionally, the environmental risks and hazards are significant. It is for these reasons, our
Council strongly oppose this project and requests that it be denied. The Council recently adopted a resolution opposing
the Santa Maria Rail Spur Project, which is enclosed.
Sincerely, Sincerely,
Perry Woodward Ed J. Tewes
Mayor Interim City Administrator
City of Gilroy City of Gilroy
Enclosure
cc: County of San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors
County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors
State Elected Officials
Federal Elected Representatives
I, SHAWNA FREELS, City Clerk of the City of Gilroy, do hereby certify that the
attached Resolution No. 2016 -10 is an original resolution, or true and correct copy of a city
Resolution, duly adopted by the Council of the City of Gilroy at a regular meeting of said
Council held on the I" day of February, 2016 at which meeting a quorum was present.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Official Seal of
the City ofpilroy this 2nd day of February, 2016.
Wa- Freels, MMC / V °
Clerk of the City of Gilroy
(Seal)