In a strongly worded letter sent Jan. 28, Monterey County officials urged the San Luis Obispo Planning Commission to deny a project that would result in 80-car trains crossing the county while filled with crude oil.
The project would add railway "spurs" that would allow for the railway delivery of crude to the Phillips 66 Santa Maria Refinery in southern San Luis Obispo County, a proposal highlighted in a Jan. 28 story in the Weekly.
The San Luis Obispo County Planning Department, which received thousands of letters from the public in opposition to rail spur, recommended denying the project in a Jan. 25 report based on several potential unavoidable impacts.
Monterey County's most recent letter, sent by Planning Department Director Mike Novo, applauded that recommendation and stressed the "clear safety issues with [the railway] through the northern portion of Monterey County."
In the letter is a photo of a train passing through the Elkhorn Slough during a king tide, when the tracks are partially submerged underwater.
"The fact that the rail line traverses the second largest estuary on the west coast (Elkhorn Slough) on tracks that are sometime under water, and through a series of communities in our county are of concern," writes Novo.
The letter asks that a full disclosure be made of the long term risks of exposure to crude oil, and states that 13,500 county residents are at risk in the event of an accident and include "some of the county's most vulnerable populations."
Additionally, in the event of an accident, Novo writes that the county would not be prepared to adequately respond.
"We are one of the jurisdictions mentioned in the findings for denial…that do not have proper emergency response on staff to respond to an oil spill. Furthermore, it is known that the habitat within the Elkhorn Slough could never fully recover from a catastrophic spill, and given the current rail conditions through this area we believe it is a deficiency overlooked in the [final environmental impact report.]
The San Luis Obispo Planning Commission will vote on the proposal Feb. 4.