President Donald Trump’s announcement this week of a controversial project that would create a $75 million coal export terminal in Oakland isn’t sitting well with some local representatives.
The Oakland terminal is just one of 13 total projects the president proposed Thursday, invoking the Cold War-era Defense Production Act, allowing him to provide $700 million to build American coal-fired power plants and export infrastructure. According to a U.S. Department of Energy news release Thursday, the West Gateway Terminal Project in Oakland is key to expanding export capacity to countries including South Korea, Taiwan and Japan.
In the release, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said the projects will be central to national security, domestic supply chains and American energy advancement. However, some lawmakers disagree.
“Trump just handed the dying coal industry $700 million in taxpayer money, and Americans will pay for it twice — once on their taxes, and again when their energy bills climb, their air gets dirtier, and their water gets less safe to drink,” said U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, in a news release. “All to prop up the dirtiest, most expensive fuel we have, a relic the rest of the world is leaving behind.”
Huffman, who is also a ranking member in the House Committee on Natural Resources, slammed the Trump administration for building coal plants for the benefit of Big Tech, when wind and solar are readily available to produce more power. He asserted that Americans will be “paying the price” in their electric bills.
Similarly, U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon, D-Oakland, said in a Thursday news release that she was “unequivocally opposed” to the decision to spend millions on “projects that move us backward,” emphasizing the need for clean air and water.
‘This isn’t your grandfather’s coal terminal’
However, some are also praising the president’s decision and former Oakland mayoral candidate Mindy Pechenuk released a statement Friday celebrating Trump’s “real leadership” and success of a project she championed.
Pechenuk, who has been a Trump supporter, said the terminal will have “cutting-edge” safety systems, dust suppression technology and “strict accountability.”
“This isn’t your grandfather’s coal terminal,” Pechenuk said. “Coal stays enclosed. Dust gets captured. Air quality is monitored in real time for everyone to see. We are protecting our neighborhoods while creating opportunity.”
“Trump just handed the dying coal industry $700 million in taxpayer money, … all to prop up the dirtiest, most expensive fuel we have, a relic the rest of the world is leaving behind.”
U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman
Pechenuk criticized Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and her allies for “legal obstruction,” while asserting that the coal terminal will bring “hundreds of new jobs” for Oakland residents. Lee has yet to make a public statement about the terminal but has historically opposed coal projects in the city.
Other local groups in Oakland including the Sierra Club, West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project, and Earthjustice, echoed worries about the effects the terminal could have on the climate and health of residents.
The Sierra Club reported that these executive orders on coal “will lead to thousands of premature deaths and hundreds of millions in unnecessary utility costs across the country.”
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