Benicia rejects plan to bring oil trains to Valero refinery

City leaders in Benicia quashed a controversial plan by petroleum giant Valero to bring trains filled with crude oil from as far away as Canada and North Dakota to the company’s Bay Area refinery.

The City Council’s unanimous vote against the proposal late Tuesday came amid mounting outcry that delivering oil by train could put not only local residents at risk of a messy spill or deadly inferno but thousands of homes and businesses along Northern California railroads in harm’s way.

“The council’s vote is a tremendous victory for the community and communities all throughout California,” said Ethan Buckner of the opposition group Stand, who was among more than 100 people who turned out for the council’s verdict.

The company billed the project as a way to keep gasoline prices down in the absence of a major oil pipeline serving the West Coast.

Valero had contended that the city of Benicia did not have the authority to stop oil trains, insisting that it was a matter of interstate commerce and the purview of the federal government.