To: Board of Supervisors
From: Supervisor Mike Wilson
Agenda Section: Initiated by Board Member
SUBJECT:
title
Resolution Expressing Continued Support for the Great Redwood Trail and Opposition to New Fossil Fuel Export Facilities (Supervisor Mike Wilson and Supervisor Virginia Bass)
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Approve the attached resolution.
2. Direct staff to develop a local ordinance to prohibit the construction of new infrastructure for the transportation, storage, processing or export of coal;
3. Take other action as appropriate.
Body
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
N/A
DISCUSSION:
After decades of failed attempts to restart freight service on over 300 miles of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad, which at one point ran from Marin County to north of Eureka, State Sen. Mike McGuire, D- Healdsburg, in February 2018 introduced the Great Redwood Trail Act (SB1029), a bill to convert the publicly owned line into a destination for bikers and hikers.
In an effort to facilitate the further development of that trail, NCRA has recently submitted an application to the federal Surface Transportation Board to "railbank" the section of rails between Willits and Humboldt County. Railbanking allows for the removal of tracks, if necessary, to facilitate trail development, but also preserves the rail corridor for future transportation-related uses, including the restoration of rail travel/freight transport.
In an August 16, 2021 filing before the Surface Transportation Board, a newly-formed corporation called North Coast Railroad Company, L.L.C. objected to railbanking and alleged that they intend to rebuild the dormant rail line. From reporting, it appears that coal interests from the Powder Basin region of Wyoming are behind this corporation. The proposed use is suspected to be for the transportation of coal that is mined in the Wyoming region and bound for Asian nations. If their "offer of financial assistance" is acc...
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