Overview:
TransMontaigne, a company that transports fuel and chemicals through the Richmond Terminal, is planning to expand its operations.
While it is in an industrial zone, nearby residents are worried about an increase in noise and pollution.
A planning commission public hearing will take place sometime this spring.
This story was updated to clarify the role of city council members in land use decisions.
TransMontaigne, a terminaling, storage and transportation company that moves diesel, ethanol and other chemicals through the Richmond Terminal, plans to expand its operations, and nearby residents say the city hasn’t done enough to study the impacts of increased rail and truck traffic.
Under the proposal, the national company, which operates in Richmond at 488 Wright Ave., would build an additional 900 feet of tracks, replace existing truck canopies and build an above-ground tank and pump pad. These upgrades will allow TransMontaigne to move more petroleum-based products, including diesel and marine fuel, as well as denatured ethanol, diesel additives and renewable feed stocks such as new and used vegetable and animal oils. The project will not change the use or overall storage capacity of the terminal and no crude oil will be handled there.
The project would increase the number of trucks and rail cars rumbling through neighborhoods. According to a study of the proposal, conducted by an outside firm, the project would increase the amount of truck trips up to 195 trips per day, nearly double the current level, and would add up to 30 additional railcars per day.
TransMontaigne officials declined to speak with Richmondside about the project, saying only that the company was bound by “confidential obligations” to its customers.
“We operate as stewards in the communities that we work in, but disclosing details would violate confidentiality provisions we have with our customers,” said Mike White, general counsel for the company.
Richmond planners say the project is consistent with the area’s industrial zoning, which includes the nearby Port of Richmond and Chevron refinery.
But over the past 20 years, the Marina Bay neighborhood has become more attractive to homebuyers with its bay views and prices that are more affordable when compared to the rest of the Bay Area. Several new subdivisions have been built, including NOMA, a development of nearly 200 single family homes and condominiums on Marina Way and Wright Avenue, and Artisan Cove, a complex of live-work studios located in the Marina district on the west side of Marina Way.
There are also three schools less than a half mile from the railroad tracks used by TransMontaigne: Richmond Charter Academy, John Henry High School and Benito Juarez Elementary. Another development, Marina Point Residential Project, is planned next to the Rosie the Riveter site and would add 70 three-story homes and 30 accessory dwelling units. (There’s a planning commission hearing for that project scheduled for Thursday.)
“This is no longer an industrial area and the planning department needs to get that through their heads,” said Margarita Mitas, president of the Marina Bay Neighborhood Council, which opposes the project. “Yes, there is a long history of industrial use, but we have more than 4,000 residents living here and schools, parks and a walking trail. All of these things need to be considered.”
More than 200 Marina Bay area residents sign petition to study TransMontaigne environmental impacts
About 200 Marina Bay area residents have signed a petition asking city planners to conduct a full environmental impact report so that noise, pollution and other potential issues can be further studied. So far, the city has conducted only a draft initial study, known as a mitigated negative declaration.
Avery Stark, planning manager for the community planning department, declined to speak to Richmondside, but in an email said that “an EIR is required only if there is substantial evidence that a project may cause significant environmental impacts that cannot be mitigated…The (study) acknowledges nearby sensitive receptors and evaluates noise, air quality, and other potential effects accordingly. The terminal site itself is located in an area designated Port Priority in the General Plan and zoned Industrial, Water-Related.”
For many residents, there’s land use policy and all the associated legalese. And then there’s the reality they live with.
Michael Fitzhugh moved to the area three years ago with his wife and two children in search of an affordable home. He lives in the NOMA subdivision on Marina Way where his windows face the Richmond Pacific Railroad tracks. Even though his home has triple-paned windows, they shake every time a train passes.
“I knew there would be some noise, but I didn’t realize how much noise there would be,” Fitzhugh said. “It’s on the edge of tolerable.”
With TransMontaigne’s planned expansion, residents worry about added noise. However, the initial study measured long-term noise levels between 60 and 80 decibels, below the maximum allowed.
Fitzhugh is also concerned about increased air pollution. His homeowners’ association already requires every home be equipped with a Merv-13 air filter, usually recommended in high-pollution areas. But that doesn’t help if he wants to sit on his patio or take a walk in the neighborhood.
“The city hasn’t prioritized cleaning up this area and there are still a lot of polluted lots,” Fitzhugh said. “The houses were plopped down but the cleanup hasn’t happened. If that’s the case, then it’s incumbent on the city to ensure that they aren’t enabling other existing industrial users to create additional pollution. That’s a lever of control that the city does have.”
City council members have been largely mum on the issue, likely because if it’s approved and then appealed, the council will have to vote on it, putting members at risk of being accused of bias if they’ve expressed an opinion. That’s left some Marina Bay residents feeling like they’re not being served by their elected officials.
District 4 council member Soheila Bana, whose district doesn’t include the proposed project area, has been vocal about expansion, asking the city how it determined that the project’s impacts will be “less than significant” and if local emergency responders are prepared in case of a train derailment.
“I’m not saying it’s a bad project, but there are a lot of unanswered questions,” Bana told Richmondside.
Planning chief Stark said that TransMontaigne is required to comply with applicable emergency access and fire safety codes. These include all regulations concerning building standards for fire protection, fire protection and notification systems such as extinguishers and smoke alarms, minimum standards for hazardous vegetation and fuel management, defensible space, and building construction and minimum standards for emergency access and water supply for fire response. Plans would be submitted to the Richmond Fire Department for review and approval prior to the issuance of building permits to ensure compliance.
There are also fire suppression devices on site such as tanks that can supply water and foam to extinguish a chemical blaze, a truck rack with a fire suppression sprinkler system and a rail car area that is equipped with fire monitors capable of shooting a water/foam mixture onto the rail area for prevention.
The planning commission is set to hold a public hearing on the project sometime this spring.
Residents should have done their homework before moving and buying into a highly polluted industrial neighborhood. It’s not like it’s the French Riviera, it’s all in plain sight.
Excellent coverage! I just wrote to our city council and planner… sue_wilson@ci.richmond.ca.us
dayers@migcom.com
Dear Ms. Wilson and Mr. Ayers,
Everyone I know in Richmond, where I’ve lived and paid taxes for 15 years, ask that you require a full Environmental Impact Report for the proposed expansion of the TransMontaigne terminal project.
I am co-chair our community’s emergency preparedness committee and we are concerned with hazardous problems. With all the existing industrial petroleum businesses there is already plenty of risk… we don’t need to add to it, especially If, and When, an earthquake occurs.
Our Marina Bay residents want to reduce The Dirty industries due to pollution health issues, noise and potential for hazardous handling, spills, etc..
We also object to increased transport of petroleum products. Isn’t Richmond working towards reducing greenhouse gases? Sea level rise is real. Asthma is real. Forever chemicals are forever! Richmond already has Chevron, Chemtrade, the problematic AstraZeneca and other contaminated sites.
These are not abstract issues. They shape daily life and the long-term wellbeing of our community.
Thank you for your consideration.
As a Richmond resident and former Planning Commissioner, I’m very concerned that the City is advancing this major industrial terminal expansion with only a Mitigated Negative Declaration. Expanding rail and truck fuel operations along the Richmond shoreline raises serious questions about air quality, public health, hazardous materials risk, and cumulative impacts in a community already burdened by heavy industry. Under CEQA’s fair argument standard, this project clearly warrants a full Environmental Impact Report to ensure a transparent, thorough review before any approvals move forward.