A group of environmental-activist organizations have sued Kern County, Calif., for its approval of a new crude-by-rail terminal in Bakersfield. The suit alleges the Kern County Board of Supervisors failed to disclose potential risks of the project to the public.
The supervisors voted unanimously in September to approve a plan by Alon USA Energy Inc. for a $170 million plan to upgrade units at its shuttered Bakersfield refinery to process a wider range of crudes, unload about 150,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of oil from trains and send any crude it doesn’t use via pipeline to other California refiners.
Groups behind the lawsuit include the Sierra Club, Earthjustice, National Resources Defense Council and the Center for Biological Diversity.
Alon closed its plant two years ago amid high oil prices. The proposed new complex will greatly expand California refiners’ access to heavy Canadian oil and light shale crudes, primarily from the Bakken Shale, the company said. County approval came after a year’s worth of environmental reviews, during which Earthjustice and other groups warned the complex would increase pollution and the risk of derailments.
As part of the project, Alon proposes to build a rail loop from a new spur off of BNSF Railway tracks and install boilers that will allow the complex to unload both light and heavy oils. The company also is planning upgrades to a crude unit, two hydrocrackers and two hydrotreaters. Crude-processing capacity at the plant will remain 70,000 bbl/d. Construction is expected to take nine months and could be complete in the second-half of 2015—assuming there are no legal delays, Alon said.
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