Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal (OBOT)
Nestled under the towering steel frame of the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge, the Port of Oakland hums with activity long before the sun rises across the Bay. The shouted commands of the dock workers mingle with the rumble of cargo being loaded. Above them, I-880’s early-morning traffic streams toward the San Francisco skyline. The concrete of the port sprawls for miles along the Oakland shore, spotted intermittently with the brightly-colored freight containers stacked atop one another. They sit right above the blue-green Bay, awaiting their turn to be hauled away on the freight ship. Even as the morning rush ebbs, the port remains active, bustling as ships dock and cargo comes and goes. Known to be the fifth busiest port in the nation, the Port of Oakland sits unassumingly behind the city, unremarkable until it became the subject of intense controversy in 2015.
Real estate developer Phil Tagami had ambitious plans to develop the former Oakland Army Base, which sits in the Port of Oakland, into a 34-acre marine export terminal. An opportunity to bolster exports and create new job prospects, Tagami’s plans initially garnered local support. However, the City of Oakland was caught by surprise when it discovered Tagami's undisclosed intention to utilize the terminal to ship a controversial commodity–coal.
View of Port of Oakland site.
No Coal in Oakland
The most pivotal organization supporting the residents of Oakland against the development of the coal terminal was the grassroots organization No Coal in Oakland. The organization was founded in 2015, shortly after it was made public that the planned terminal would be used to ship coal. No Coal in Oakland gathered members to prevent developer Phil Tagami from obtaining the funding necessary for the development project from Oakland residents.
No Coal in Oakland organized rallies, petition drives, and public hearings to voice their opposition to the terminal’s construction. Their efforts garnered widespread support, drawing local and national attention, and culminated in the aforementioned City Council ban on coal transport, which halted the proposed coal terminal project. Even after the ban, the organization continued to hold community rallies and protests during the almost decade-long legal battle.
In January, Oakland faced a significant setback when the Superior Court of Alameda County found that the city had breached its contract with OBOT by passing the 2016 coal transport ban. Although the city has appealed this decision, Dr. Anne Harvey, a representative from No Coal in Oakland, said that this has “dramatically shortened the timeline residents have to prevent the shipment of coal through Oakland.”
“If the city were to win their appeal, then the issue of the coal terminal would be over,” she said. “If they don’t, or if Tagami gets the court to lift the stay, the clock will begin ticking.” If OBOT makes progress on the terminal within two years, the city will be unable to void the contract, leaving little legal recourse to prevent the shipment of coal.
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Port of Oakland building entrance.
Professor Apte’s Insights
The impact on the neighboring communities would be highly detrimental. “West Oakland, which is where this terminal is going to be, is one of the most environmentally overburdened communities in the Bay Area,” said Joshua Apte, assistant professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley. Apte’s research with Google, the Environmental Defense Fund, and Aclima used Google Street View cars equipped with sensors to map air pollution levels in urban areas. It found Oakland to be exposed to some of the highest air pollution concentrations in the Bay Area.
In explaining why this is the case, Apte said, “If you have to put it simply, it’s too much of everything.” West Oakland is surrounded on all four sides by interstate highways I-880 and I-580, two of the busiest highway corridors in the state. It also has a prominent industrial district. Two sizable railyards within West Oakland constantly release emissions due to locomotive transportation and the Port of Oakland sees hundreds of container and cargo ships, along with dockside equipment that also contributes emissions. Together, these various polluting sources contribute to remarkably high pollution levels. Although Apte notes that in recent years, community efforts have improved air pollution levels in Oakland, hence, “adding another major facility will certainly move things in the wrong direction.”
What is the issue with coal?
Coal is transported cross-country in open-top hopper trains to prevent the build-up of gasses and potential explosions. However, these open-top containers allow for an alarming amount of coal dust to be lofted out of the container. According to the UC Davis Air Quality Research Center, each train adds an average of 8 micrograms per cubic meter to the surrounding environment. The transient increase in pollution as trains pass by, severely affects the long-term air pollution levels in an area.
Coal dust is a source of PM2.5, or particulate matter, which are solid or liquid particles that are smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter. High levels of PM2.5 are linked to premature mortality, higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, and higher rates of asthma and respiratory illnesses, according to a study conducted by the California Air Resources Board. “In the U.S., [PM2.5] kills somewhere between 50,000-100,000 people every year,” Apte said. He compared this to the average number of fatalities from road injuries, which lies at 40,000 people per year. “This is a non-insignificant health risk,” he said.
Impacts on Marginalized Communities
The construction of this terminal and the subsequent transport of coal would primarily affect low-income black and brown communities. Historical redlining in the Bay Area has limited residents of predominantly people of color neighborhoods access to loans, insurance, and financial services. Booming tech industries and skyrocketing property values have restricted housing opportunities for POCs and forced them to stay closer to low-cost areas near factories or railways.
As the legal battle between No Coal in Oakland and OBOT continues, the decision made to uphold or overturn the recent court ruling will have far-reaching consequences on the health and well-being of Oakland residents. Dr. Harvey said that now is an essential time for community members to rejoin the advocacy efforts. If the court stay is lifted, the Oakland community should be “at the ready and getting back into gear” to ensure that Oakland receives the clean air that it deserves.
