Blog Post: October 6, 2014
Baykeeper recently joined with Waterkeeper organizations across the country to urge federal regulators to tighten lax regulations on crude oil shipped by rail. The amount of crude oil shipped by rail in the US has skyrocketed in recent years due to the increase of oil production in North Dakota and...
Blog Post: October 6, 2014
On Saturday, September 20, as swimmers in the annual Dolphin Club Alcatraz Swim were heading into San Francisco’s Aquatic Park, an oil slick drifted across their path. Several swimmers were oiled and a historic rowing boat was left with a “bathtub ring” of oil. So were all of the historic boats at...
Column: October 1, 2014
Long freight trains, with tank cars full of crude oil, chugging daily along San Francisco Bay’s shore? That’s the oil industry’s plan—to expand the shipment of crude oil into the Bay Area by train.
Shipping lots more crude oil here by rail would create a huge risk of oil being spilled into the Bay...
Blog Post: September 16, 2014
Baykeeper and more than 150 of our supporters recently stood up for San Francisco Bay and against Valero Energy Corporation’s plan to enlarge the rail yard at its Benicia oil refinery.
If Valero gets its way, long trains of tank cars filled with explosion-prone crude oil will run beside Suisun Bay...
Blog Post: September 12, 2014
Valero Energy Corporation wants to enlarge the rail yard at its Benicia oil refinery to ship in more crude oil by tank car.
If Valero gets its way, long trains filled with explosion-prone crude oil will run beside Suisun Bay, a San Francisco Bay inlet and important wildlife habitat area. Oil...
Blog Post: July 17, 2014
In a major victory for protecting California waterways from oil spills, a new state law will provide the state’s rivers, lakes, and creeks with oil spill protections previously given only to the state’s coastal waters. The law also ensures continued funding for the California agency that rescues...
Press Release: July 17, 2014
(San Francisco, CA) With the number of freight trains carrying crude oil skyrocketing in California, a new state law will provide the state’s rivers, lakes, and creeks with protection from oil spills previously given only to the state’s coastal waters.
The expanded protection is especially critical...
Column: July 1, 2014
What happens when the engines of a large ship in San Francisco Bay suddenly lose power? The pilot loses the ability to steer the ship or stop it from drifting.
A dramatic rise in such incidents began in 2009, when a California law to help reduce global climate change went into effect. Ships are...
Blog Post: June 18, 2014
Baykeeper advocated in support of a resolution unanimously passed on June 17 by the Oakland City Council to oppose rail shipments of hazardous crude oil, coal, and petroleum coke (a toxic by-product of oil refining) through Oakland.
Fossil fuel industries are pushing hard to expand the export of...
Blog Post: January 22, 2014
The office of California Attorney General Kamala Harris recently raised concerns about environmental damage to San Francisco Bay and shoreline communities that could result from a proposed expansion of a Pittsburg oil transfer and storage facility.
The Attorney General’s office responded to the...