Benicians win first victory in opposition to crude-by-rail 'bomb trains'

by KPFA Weekend News/Andrés Soto/Ann Garrison

Mon, Jul 14, 2014 3:21PM

On Thursday, 07.10.2014, citizens of Benicia and neighboring communities commemorated the 47 lives lost in the Lac Mégantic crude-by-rail explosion last year. Then they went into the Benicia Planning Commission meeting, where they won a 45-day extension of the public comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Report regarding Valero's plan for transporting tar sands and shale oil to its Benicia Refinery on trains. Activists opposing the shipments began calling them "bomb trains" after explosions around the U.S. and in Canada. According to Andrés Soto, the majority of those who attended the Planning Commission meeting are adamantly opposed to crude-by-rail.

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Explosion and fire caused by the derailment of a train carrying crude oil in Lac Mégantic, in the Province of Quebec, Canada. Forty seven people died and some of their bodies were never even found.

Andrés Soto, Benicia resident and organizer with Communities for a Better Environment, told KPFA about stop-crude-by-rail activists victory at the Benicia Planning Commission. Transcript available at: http://www.anngarrison.com/audio/2014/07/13/513/benicians-win-first-victory-in-opposition-to-crude-by-rail-bomb-trains.

For more information: http://www.anngarrison.com/

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