The other day, my wife and I attended the Paso Robles City Council meeting. The agenda dealt with the Phillips 66 application to expand crude oil transportation through the county. After listening to the comments by Phillips 66 personnel, we are outraged that such an expansion is even being considered. What about the recent derailments and explosions of trains? Who in their right mind would want to invite these kinds of threats to the beautiful Central Coast?
We live some distance up the hill from the rail lines on Paso’s beautiful west side, well within the estimated 1-mile blast zone if one of the 80 (!) cars of the proposed trains should catch fire and explode. The length of some of those trains could span nearly the entire length of Paso Robles! The trains are just a stone’s throw from the Downtown City Park, the center of tourism and the Park Theatre! Some of the oil could come from Canada’s tar sand fields. Clearly, much of the most populated areas of SLO County would be endangered if the Phillips 66 plan is approved.
To our surprise, Paso’s leaders voted against public safety and instead groveled to the feds for more regulations. While safety regulations should be a given, these highly dangerous trains should not be allowed in the first place.
The safety of all SLO citizens demands a denial of the required permission!
— Klaus Schumann – Paso Robles
This article appears in May 21-28, 2015.
