Richmond council approves coal storage ban

Despite threats of lawsuits from a waterfront coal storage business, the Richmond City Council has approved an ordinance to phase out storage of coal and petroleum coke in that city.

The ordinance, approved Jan. 14, gives businesses three years to wind down coal and coke storage operations. In practice, the ordinance will directly affect only one Richmond business, Levin-Richmond Terminal Corporation on the Santa Fe Channel east of Point Richmond and south of the Iron Triangle neighborhood. The terminal stores coal shipped from Utah mines before export to Japan.