By Shoshana Hebshi
Redwood Chapter Communications Coordinator
Opponents to a proposed cement plant and deepwater marine terminal in Vallejo, including Solano Group Sierra Club members, are bracing for the city to make a decision after months of vocalizing the many issues with the plans.
Joe Feller, Solano Group chair and longtime Vallejo resident, said the proposal is an “environmental nightmare” that would bring increased air pollution, noise and truck traffic through a low-income neighborhood in South Vallejo.
Sierra Club has been working alongside Fresh Air Vallejo, a non-profit group, to spread information to Vallejo residents, especially those who live in the potentially affected area. Sierra Club Napa Group has also been active in voicing opposition to the project, which would border the Napa River. The Redwood Chapter, which includes Solano and Napa Groups, voted to oppose the project, and the national Sierra Club has also voiced opposition.
The groups held a press conference Feb. 22 outside Vallejo City Hall in a move to draw more attention to the project and encourage people to attend a special Planning Commission meeting on Feb. 27.
Redwood Chapter Chair Victoria Brandon spoke at that conference saying: “This is a poor community, it’s struggling to come back,” Brandon said about Vallejo. “This project will be disastrous for Vallejo in the long run.”
The Feb. 27 meeting, Feller said, attracted more than 100 speakers and went until almost 1 a.m.
The majority of the speakers, he said, voiced opposition to the project.
It’s really two projects, Feller said, a cement plant and a marine terminal, which would likely achieve port status and become independent of the city. The port would receive imported raw materials for the cement plant.
“We think there’s all kinds of skullduggery involved,” he said.
Orcem, an Irish company behind the cement plant proposal, has a history of being anti-union and not attuned to environmental protection standards. Vallejo Marine Terminal is a newly-formed company that is proposing the port.
City staff is against the project, Feller said, mainly because they believe Orcem and VMT are lying to them about the project’s scope and impacts on residents and the environment. Staff has not certified the draft environmental impact report, which proponents say is incomplete.
If the Planning Commission approves the project on March 6, the city will move forward on it, asking for a revision and certification of the EIR. But Feller said he expects the commission to reject the proposal. Even if they do, however, the City Council can go around that decision and move forward with the project.
“This project is not the right project,” Feller said.
The Vallejo Planning Commission meets at 6 p.m. Monday, March 6 at City Hall, 555 Santa Clara St.
Important links:
- Fresh Air Vallejo
- Sierra Club Solano Group
- Vallejo Times-Herald article on Sierra Club press conference
