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Re: City of Benicia vs. Valero (with UP mixed in) Another Perfidious Example of Evil Thomas
Author: BOB2
Date: 07-23-2016 - 14:28
If you have the law, argue the law....
If you have the facts, argue the facts......
If you don't have either, just argue......
There have been several competing decisions on this land use "approach" by local governments on RR's, lately. Many of these have tended to favor the RR when there is a current RR operation and it is RR land. The RR News feed has had several examples of cases like this, on upgrading yards, and the storage of oil cars, being blocked, fined, or otherwise hassled by local government, mostly losing, because they lack legal any authority.
Valero owns this plant, and the City is requiring a conditional use permit to improve rail access, which the City considers a change, which they are denying. But it is being served in interstate commerce currently and this is an expansion of that capacity, and the City is using its regulatory powers to pre-empt interstate commerce, a Federal role. So this should be really fun.
The only thing I can really predict about this interesting approach, is that both sides will make lawyers wealthy, and this could be the kind of thing that could go through to appeal by both sides, making them wealthier still.
This kind of local government pandering to the loudest local "mob of the week" on the horrible impacts of "evil" Thomas, and all of those awful things he hauls (moving the "evil" things that do stuff for society like keep the food on the shelves in the stores and their I-pad battery charged) is getting more common, though.
Where there are real safety issues or real environmental issues we should properly intervene and protect society, but much of this is all too often promoted and/or motivated by ignorance and/or political manipulation, not by good science, economics, or land use.
Evil Thomas must be stopped!
If you have the facts, argue the facts......
If you don't have either, just argue......
There have been several competing decisions on this land use "approach" by local governments on RR's, lately. Many of these have tended to favor the RR when there is a current RR operation and it is RR land. The RR News feed has had several examples of cases like this, on upgrading yards, and the storage of oil cars, being blocked, fined, or otherwise hassled by local government, mostly losing, because they lack legal any authority.
Valero owns this plant, and the City is requiring a conditional use permit to improve rail access, which the City considers a change, which they are denying. But it is being served in interstate commerce currently and this is an expansion of that capacity, and the City is using its regulatory powers to pre-empt interstate commerce, a Federal role. So this should be really fun.
The only thing I can really predict about this interesting approach, is that both sides will make lawyers wealthy, and this could be the kind of thing that could go through to appeal by both sides, making them wealthier still.
This kind of local government pandering to the loudest local "mob of the week" on the horrible impacts of "evil" Thomas, and all of those awful things he hauls (moving the "evil" things that do stuff for society like keep the food on the shelves in the stores and their I-pad battery charged) is getting more common, though.
Where there are real safety issues or real environmental issues we should properly intervene and protect society, but much of this is all too often promoted and/or motivated by ignorance and/or political manipulation, not by good science, economics, or land use.
Evil Thomas must be stopped!
