Vallejo residents are organizing to fight the development of a slag cement processing plant and deep-water industrial port on the city’s southern waterfront, at the site of the old Sperry/General Mills plant. A revised environmental impact review of the project is due at the end of this month. In June the Planning Commission is expected to consider the proposal, by Vallejo Marine Terminal (VMT) and Orcem, a subsidiary of an international cement company.
Project opponents have published a detailed review of reasons it would be bad for the city, based on figures included in the draft environmental review, published last September. The problems they cite include:
- Greatly increased heavy-truck and train traffic through the city, including residential neighborhoods. Traffic at the city’s sixteen at-grade railroad crossings would frequently be stalled. Opponents also say that once the rail line is re-opened, VMT would probably use it for other commodities, increasing train traffic even more.
- Air pollution: According to the draft environmental review, diesel from trucks and ships would increase emissions of smog-forming nitrous oxide to six times the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s “threshold level.” Emissions of carbon monoxide will also increase.Diesel emissions cause asthma, heart problems, and cancer. In addition, dust blowing off the slag heaps could be a serious problem, based on the experiences of residents who live near similar plants.
- Climate change: Truck and train traffic would emit 31,000 tons of carbon dioxide, the primary global warming gas. There would be no ship-to-shore electricity, so the ships’ generators would be running 24/7. VMT and Orcem would buy “offsets,” supposedly reducing pollution elsewhere while polluting Vallejo.
- Too few jobs: The developers say the project wouldc] create 45 to 70 jobs. The opponents’ flyer comments, “We can do better with this 39-acre piece of waterfront real estate.” It also points out Orcem’s parent company, Ecocem, refused to hire union workers at its plant in Ireland, instead illegally requiring ship hands to offload products.
- Costs to residents: Although the city will get only 29% of the tax revenue (the rest going to the county), it will give project developers a big break on rent, forgoing possible revenue to the city. In addition, the city will have to pay for upgrades to streets and rail crossings, while both residents and the city will lose from the decline in property values near the project.
- Water: The project will use 46,000 gallons of water a day, mostly sprayed on slag heaps to control dust. There is concern that chemicals from the slag could seep into the water supply and enter Mare Island Strait, threatening salmon and steelhead.
- Impact on the waterfront: Opponents point out that the site is the first view of the city for people arriving by water. They contrast the image of a cement plant with the city’s general plan, which calls for “gateways to the community” to make a “positive, welcoming impression” and calls for a waterfront that features “a promenade, multi-use trails, natural open space, and access to water activities.”
In addition, the dredging required for a deep-water port could stir up toxic materials that have been accumulating in the sediment under the bay since the Gold Rush. These toxic materials include large amounts of mercury and other contaminants, according to analyses of other dredging proposals by the environmental organization Baykeeper.
For more information and to get involved in the movement to stop this project, go to FreshAirVallejo.com or the group’s Facebook page.