The Phillips 66 Rail Spur Extension Project would require the construction of a rail spur that oil trains can take directly to the facility, without interfering with other railroad operations. Students are taking action against it.
The project
The Phillips 66 Rail Spur Extension Project means that five oil trains would be brought to Phillips 66 Santa Maria Facility, environmental management and protection senior Kyle Jordan said.
“The rail line goes past campus, through many populated areas all across the West coast from North Dakota to Alberta, through Oregon, California, Washington,” Jordan said.
However, the proposal must be approved by the SLO County Board of Supervisors in order to begin construction. Currently, the San Luis Obispo Planning Commission has not voted on the future of this project. On Feb. 4 and 5, the San Luis Obispo Planning Commission will hold public hearings to inform its decision on the project.
“The approval of this project is all up to the (San Luis Obispo) County Planning Commission,” Jordan said. “Ultimately, it can be appealed to the Board of Supervisors and they can rule the other way; whatever the County Planning Commission decides, they can either agree with that or not.”
Students are taking action in opposition to the project at Cal Poly, Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) Board of Directors Chair and mechanical engineering senior Vittorio Monteverdi said.
“We’ve had students come to speak to us about the issue and the resolution was presented,” Monteverdi said. “We spoke about it last week at our workshop and we will vote on it on Wednesday.”
Jordan co-authored a resolution to oppose the Phillips 66 Company Rail Spur Extension Project that was presented to the ASI Board of Directors, and will be voted on at its next meeting on Feb. 3.
“Currently, ASI does not have a stance on the project; it would be the Board’s stance because the board acts indirectly as the voice of Cal Poly students,” Monteverdi said. “If the resolution is passed, it would be the stance of all Cal Poly students.”
How will it affect Cal Poly?
According to Jordan, there will be three main impacts: traffic, air pollution and potential derailment.
“There will be five trains that are a mile and a half long, so getting stuck behind that will only cause more traffic issues,” Jordan said.
Emissions from the train and the facility will increase air pollution levels, Jordan said.
“Because it is higher quality, crude is more energy intensive to process, which will release more greenhouse gasses,” Jordan said. “Not only are they releasing greenhouse gasses to get it to the facility, but they are creating more pollution at the facility.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation defines any area within a half-mile of the tracks as an evacuation and any area within one mile of the tracks as a potential impact zone.
“Besides the fact that they are going to be releasing particulate matter and diesel exhaust to move the train,” Jordan said. “Also, there’s potential for catastrophic destruction. The entire Cal Poly campus is within the zone besides a couple of parking lots like pretty much the whole campus, all of our classrooms, all our housing, all of our facilities are within the distance.”
Jordan is not alone in his opposition. San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission has received emails and letters in resistance to the project.
“When we come in and say as concerned citizens and people of (San Luis Obispo) or live in a certain area of the railroad tracks, we don’t want the potential for oil train derailment because the train is going to be coming down the grade,” Jordan said. “It is going to be a mile and half long and it’s going to be filled with almost 2 million gallons of oil.”
Additionally, San Luis Obispo Mayor Jan Marx penned a letter on behalf of San Luis Obispo on Feb. 19, 2015 with the city’s official stance on the project.
“I am writing at the unanimous direction of the San Luis Obispo City Council to urge you to deny the application of the Phillips 66 Santa Maria Refinery in Nipomo, which wishes to upgrade its facility to allow for crude oil deliveries by rail for processing,” Marx wrote. “This project would significantly increase the exposure of our residents, neighbors, business people and natural resources to the threats of explosions, fire, contamination and other dangerous conditions which would result from this project.”
While the project will have money-saving benefits for Phillips 66, it is not beneficial for Cal Poly, Jordan said.
“What we are trying to do is get Cal Poly students to say that because there are potential dangers and there are actual negative environmental and health impacts to Cal Poly students that they want the Planning Commission, as well as the Board of Supervisors, to vote against it,” Jordan said.
The hearing on the Phillips 66 rail terminal project will be held on Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.