Mandatory Environmental Review of Large Coal Projects in California To Become Law 

Today, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 40, the Community First Coal Review Act by Assemblymember Mia Bonta. Signing this bill into law protects Californians from dusty, toxic coal pollution. Developers of enormous coal facilities, like the one proposed in West Oakland, will now have to fully disclose their projects’ impacts and develop effective mitigation measures before they are granted approval.

Earthjustice and West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project co-sponsored AB 40, which Assemblymember Bonta introduced after the Trump administration announced that it was planning to allocate $75 million in taxpayer funding toward a new coal storage and handling facility in Oakland.

“California doesn’t need Trump’s dirty coal. By signing AB 40, California makes it non-negotiable: if Donald Trump wants to send new coal into our communities, we get an honest, current, science-based look at what it will do to our air and our health. Today many of the beautiful people of Oakland, Alameda, and Emeryville are breathing a sigh of relief. West Oaklanders in particular have carried more than their share of pollution for generations, and spent decades organizing for clean air,” said Assemblymember Mia Bonta.” I will always stand with our neighbors who have been cast aside by our systems rather than big corporations seeking to harm our planet. I’m proud of the years of organizing that got us here, and grateful to Governor Newsom for signing AB 40 into law.”

“This is a big day for West Oakland and communities up and down the East Bay shoreline,” said Veronica Eady, executive director of the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project. “Our neighbors are extremely alarmed about the prospect of dirty coal dust spreading into their homes, schools, and places of worship: this law gives them a process to voice those concerns and demand mitigations.”

“By signing the Community First Coal Review Act, Governor Newsom has taken an important step to protect Californians from toxic coal pollution and the Trump administration’s dirty coal project. Today California is standing up for public health, the environment, and our climate. We will not sacrifice our communities to prop up the failing coal industry,” said Ada Waelder, Earthjustice Sr. State Legislative Representative.

The proposed West Oakland facility would reportedly handle 13 million tons of coal a year from Utah, Wyoming, and potentially other western states. This massive amount of coal would pass through communities across California on hundreds of open train cars, expected to travel over the Sierras and along the rail corridor adjacent to I-80 in to West Oakland. If approved, the project could lead to three coal trains per day, each hauling 100 cars and extending a mile in length, traveling through California for the next 60 years or more.

A recent study found that coal handling facilities, and coal trains, increase local levels of harmful fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which can cause or worsen lung and heart conditions and even result in premature death. Coal dust also contains harmful toxins like arsenic, lead, and mercury that are cause for concern which is why it is critical that the largest coal projects undergo thorough environmental review — as AB 40 now requires.