Court: Oakland can’t bar coal shipments

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday struck down the city of Oakland’s ban on coal shipments at a proposed cargo terminal, siding with a developer who wants to use the site to transport Utah coal to Asia.

In a scathing ruling, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco said the information the city relied on to conclude that coal operations would pose a substantial health or safety danger to the public was “riddled with inaccuracies” and “faulty analyses, to the point that no reliable conclusion about health or safety dangers could be drawn from it.”

The decision cheered coal proponents while opponents said they would continue to fight for cleaner air. Oakland is reviewing its options and may appeal, said Justin Berton, a spokesman for Mayor Libby Schaaf.

The issue has rocked then San Francisco Bay Area city that is environmentally friendly but also economically depressed in spots.

City leaders approved construction of a rail and marine terminal in 2013 as part of a larger makeover of a shuttered Army base. The $250 million project in west Oakland is expected to bring thousands of jobs to a historically AfricanAmerican neighborhood that is among the poorest and most polluted in the region.

Oakland officials said coal was never mentioned as a possibility but lawyers for developers said city officials always knew there would be a mix of goods, including coal.