Opinion: Environmental justice at risk in National City from biofuel project

A National City sign Photo courtesy of the city Last month the National City Planning Commission postponed its vote on USD Group s controversial proposed biofuel transfer station at the request of the California Coastal Commission Operating this facility would require lung-damaging diesel-polluting oil tankers to drive through National City every day Making matters worse the fuel station would be located less than a mile from Kimball Elementary School and Saint Anthony de Padua Church On the evening of the postponed vote National City residents packed the City Council chambers where the meeting was taking place and spilled into the overflow lobby However the meeting didn t last long The Planning Commission chair reported that the vote was postponed in response to a letter from the Coastal Commission that requested additional time for our staffs to work together to address the project s inconsistencies with the city s Local Coastal Project LCP and the Coastal Act The letter from the Coastal Commission outlined multiple concerns with the city s review of the project so far Majority of importantly the letter read the city s responses to commission staff s comments regarding environmental justice concerns have been inadequate These are the same environmental justice concerns society members have expressed for more than a year The letter continues stating the probable negative impacts would be mostly located within a region that is already disproportionally overburdened by heavy litter West National City already breathes more diesel garbage than of communities in California Diesel litter is known to cause cancer as well as exacerbate asthma and other respiratory markers The letter also points out that the city does not propose any mitigation even though it admits the project conflicts with the Air Defilement Control District s goal to reduce air litter and improve wellness outcomes That means the city is not asking the USD Group to take measures that would lessen the harmful impact of the project s trash on nearby residents Why is city staff recommending the Planning Commission approve a project that will create more lung-damaging diesel trash Why isn t the city asking USD Group to at least take policies to minimize the expected harm to residents medical What we do know is that USD Group has agreed to pay National City a year in economic benefit for the life of the project These funds wouldn t have to be used for clean air or robustness improvement projects to mitigate the harmful effects of the transfer station Instead the money could be used for a multitude of other things even office supplies According to Content USA as of National City is home to an estimated residents divided by is just over In contrast it costs an average of per year for a person with asthma to manage the condition according to the Asthma Allergy Foundation of America A large number of National City neighborhoods already have an asthma rate that is higher than of communities in California Just per resident annually is that what city agents seem to think the soundness of National City residents is worth Why is the city willing to jeopardy long-term negative medical impacts for such a minimal short-term gain This is especially egregious because USD Group is anticipating that the fuel transfer station will receive barrels of biofuel a day On average a barrel of biofuel costs per the U S Department of Capacity If we do the math the company will be bringing in nearly million a day while they poison the very air we breathe Our wellbeing the fitness of our families and the vitality of Kimball Elementary School shouldn t have a price tag it is priceless Jose Franco Gracia is the executive director of Environmental Physical condition Coalition and Claire Groebner is the associate director of Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center