April Thomas, april.thomas@sierraclub.org, 206.321.3850
Oakland, Calif. --- Today, Judge Vince Chhabria invalidated Oakland’s ordinance that bans the storage and handling of dirty coal at the Oakland Army Base.
In response, Luis Amezcua, Chair of the Northern Alameda County Group of the Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter issued the following statement:
“Despite this unfortunate setback, we believe the City of Oakland has every right to protect the public health of its community, especially for the most vulnerable, by banning the handling and storage of coal at the Oakland Army Base. We will continue to support the City and people of Oakland who have stood up to Phil Tagami’s dangerous coal export scheme, which could cost Oakland up to $1.3 billion in health costs each year and cut short thousands of lives in a community already disproportionately impacted by pollution. We support job creation and economic development, but we should not have to choose between economic development and our health — we can have both. This decision is just one step in what we expect to be a long legal process.”
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The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.