Community Meeting to Discuss BNSF Railway's Initial Draft of the Richmond Railyard Diesel Particulate Matter Mitigation Plan

In June, 2007, Air Resources Board (ARB) staff presented to the public the draft railyard health risk assessment (HRA) for the BNSF Railway’s Richmond Railyard.  This HRA was prepared under the 2005 Railroad Agreement between ARB and Union Pacific Railroad (UP) and BNSF Railway (BNSF).  ARB staff reviewed public comments and incorporated appropriate changes to finalize the HRA on November 20, 2007.

Consistent with the Agreement, BNSF then began the process to develop an initial draft railyard mitigation plan for this facility, with ARB staff providing consultation and technical review on the calculations of emissions and feasibility of control measures.  This is BNSF’s initial draft railyard mitigation plan which has not been approved or endorsed by the ARB, but provides a starting point for discussions with community members.

BNSF and ARB staff would now like to meet with community members and air district staff to discuss BNSF’s initial draft railyard mitigation plan.  This process will allow the public to discuss the control measures in the draft plan, and to identify additional control measures to further reduce the risks identified in the HRA.
The date, time, and location are listed below:

April 23, 2009 (Thursday)
6:30 P.M. - 9:00 P.M.
Senior Heritage Apartments
Conference Room                             
1555 Third Street
Richmond, CA 94801

The public meeting notice is located at the ARB website: http://www.arb.ca.gov/railyard/community/community.htm#mtgs  Staff presentations will be posted on the day of the meeting.  The draft mitigation plan for the BNSF Richmond Railyard can be found on the ARB website:  http://www.arb.ca.gov/railyard/hra/hra.htm.

If you have questions about these documents or upcoming public meetings, please contact Mr. Harold Holmes, Manager, Engineering
Evaluation Section at (916) 324-8029 or via email at: hholmes@arb.ca.gov or Mr. Eugene Yang, Staff Air Pollution Specialist, Engineering Evaluation Section at (916) 327-1510 or via email at: eyang@arb.ca.gov.