The waiting game for the Oakland Port Project has possibly come to an end as of Tuesday, May 15, after U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria stated that Oakland City officials breached the 2013 development agreement made with developer Phil Tagami. This comes after a lengthy two-year ligation process between the two parties.
The news about Judge Chhabria decision came in when several county and state officials were attending the Governor’s Energy Summit. “So, for Carbon County it is definitely a win and coal in general because that lifting and ruling against Oakland’s ban mean that the port project can now go forward. The work to still be done is much but it means we have a great opportunity to see our economy grow, jobs to return and export capacity,” said Carbon County Commissioner Jae Potter, a proponent of the port project since the start.
In 2014, the city got wind that the developer was working with four coal companies in Utah to develop a plan to export coal from the terminal. It was not until June 2016 that city officials voted to impose a block in the handling and storage of coal in their city due to health and environmental risks. “Basically, it was driven from an environmental standpoint and global warming, it had nothing to do with the reality of health risks. So that was a big part of it that there was no reason for them to deny that based on health issues,” stated Potter. The city also felt that the handling of the coal was a threat claiming it would create explosions and be very flammable. Oakland City based their ban of the port project on misconceptions which the judge felt should have never been passed.
Bowie Resources who operates the three largest mines in Utah will benefit from the judge’s decision to overturn the ban. Although, they currently export coal out of California’s Stockton and Richmond ports access to the terminal in Oakland is a deeper port and allow for larger vessels for better economies of scale. “So, we do see their ability to produce more coal which thereby will mean an increase in employment and opportunities for the mineral dollars that come to the county directly but also to the Community Impact Board. So, it’s a big deal for Bowie Resources because what it means to their future also,” said Potter. When the project was originally discussed with Bowie Resources and other coal producers they felt that it could easily develop around 300 to 500 coal mining jobs.
Although the ban halted the development of the project for two years the developers have not been sitting idly by, they have prepped the land and developed the rail system for the main and short lines to deliver the coal. “Now the time and energy will be going into developing the plan of action, vetting the entire process and the project will have to be designed and built there. They estimate that it’s about an 18 month build out to finish it,” stated Potter. The plan is to make sure the project moves forward; the facility is finished and we start shipping coal off the west coast.
The $53 million project has been an effort between four rural counties, Carbon, Emery, Sevier and Sanpete. The money is an investment in the project which would guarantee half its capacity for moving their coal to the west coast.