Politics & Government
Environmental Groups Oppose 13-Mile SF Bay Dredging Plan
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredging would deepen shipping channels used by tankers to carry crude oil to and from local refineries.
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CA — The Sierra Club and four other environmental groups sent the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers a public comment letter Monday objecting to the agency's plan to dredge a 13-mile channel in San Francisco Bay. The proposed dredging would run from the central San Francisco Bay to Avon, just east of the Benicia-Martinez Bridge, and would deepen shipping
channels used by tankers to carry crude oil to and from local refineries.
The channels would be deepened from 35 to 38 feet below water level in most areas. The plan is outlined in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement by the Army Corps of Engineers. The public comment period ended Monday.
In the letter, the groups contend the study doesn't adequately consider the effects of increased oil traffic on air quality, water quality, aquatic species and the risk of oil spills, and doesn't account for an expected sequel of future dredging extending to Stockton.
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Attorney Hollin Kretzmann for the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement, "This project is a boondoggle meant to line the pockets of big oil companies. But the harms from spills, accidents and climate chaos will fall on the public and the marine species that live in the bay's unique ecosystem."
The letter also claims the draft environmental review wasn't given adequate public notice, because it was posted on the website of the Jacksonville, Fla., district of the Army Corps of Engineers. A link to the study was given in the news section of the agency's San Francisco district
website.
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The purpose of the project is to "reduce transportation costs and increase deep draft navigation efficiency for the shipment of commodities to and from all facilities within the study area," according to the draft study, which says that most vessels currently cannot be fully loaded because the channel is not deep enough.
In addition to the Sierra Club and Center for Biological Diversity, groups signing the letter are Communities for a Better Environment, San Francisco Baykeeper and Friends of the Earth.
—Bay City News Service
