Overview
- The U.S. Department of Energy announced an offer of up to $75 million to support building the Oakland Army Base export terminal following President Trump’s June 4 invocation of the Defense Production Act to back coal projects.
- Developers led by Phil Tagami originally struck a 2013 pact to redevelop the site and in 2015 quietly agreed to use the terminal to export coal from Utah, which triggered long-running local opposition.
- Oakland passed a 2016 ban on coal storage and then faced multiple court fights over whether that ban violated the developers’ contractual protections, with judges finding gaps in the city’s health-safety record but not ruling that coal poses no risk.
- The terminal still lacks key approvals, including air-quality permits from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and California lawmakers led by Assemblymember Mia Bonta are pushing AB 40 to force a full environmental impact report before coal operations can proceed.
- If built to handle up to 10 million short tons a year, the terminal would send multiple long coal trains through West Oakland and could worsen local pollution and asthma rates, making permit decisions and continued lawsuits the decisive next steps.