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Greens file legal challenge defending Oakland's coal transport ban

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Greens file legal challenge defending Oakland's coal transport ban

Community and environmental groups filed a friend of the court brief defending a local move to ban storage and handling of coal at the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal.

In December 2016, the developer of the proposed export terminal in Oakland, Calif., sued the city, saying its ban on shipping coal from the terminal is an "unconstitutional abuse of its power."

Phil Tagami, president and CEO of California Capital and Investment Group, which is leading the development of the port and is a corporate member of Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal, challenged the ban and wants to use the project to export 5 million to 10 million tons of coal from Utah to overseas markets.

"We applied for and the City approved and vested exactly what the market demands: a terminal capable of being fully responsive to market demands for global transport of legal commodities over its 66-year useful life," he said in a statement. "Restricting any commodity on political grounds puts a cloud of uncertainty over the entire project going forward."

Following Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal's lawsuit, environmental groups have taken legal actions to support the city's decision.

Five more groups joined in the brief filed Dec. 7: West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Communities for a Better Environment, No Coal in Oakland and the Center for Biological Diversity.

"The developer of the former Oakland Army Base is putting profit over people. His coal plan shows total disregard for West Oakland residents, and the health and safety of all who live, work, play and pray in the city," said Margaret Gordon, co-founder of West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project, in a Dec. 7 release.

"We cannot allow greed at the expense of our overall health, our community health and the health of our beloved city," added Hai Po Pan, a community leader with the Asian Pacific Environmental Network.

The federal court for the Northern District in California is slated to hear arguments on the case in January 2018.