1 Toxic Site In Benicia At Risk Of Flooding By Year 2100: Study

BENICIA, CA — Rising ocean levels could flood some 440 hazardous facilities in California by the end of the century, exposing vulnerable communities to toxic chemicals, according to a new statewide mapping project.

In Benicia, there is one hazardous facility that will be impacted by rising sea levels, according to the project.

Benicia WWTP, a wastewater (sewage) treatment plant at 614 E. 5th St. in Benicia, has an expected annual flood risk of 328 events by the year 2100. As of 2017, there was a population of 4,896 living within a half-mile of the site.

TIMET — Titanium Metals Corporation — at 403 Ryder St. in nearby Vallejo, has an expected annual flood risk of 85 events by the year 2100, according to the study. As of 2017, there was a population of 5,290 living within a half-mile of the site who would be impacted, the researchers said.

If little is done to mitigate the effects of climate change, more than 3 feet of sea-level rise is expected by the year 2100.

And it isn't just rising seas that are a cause for concern. Hundreds of naval bases, ports, oil wells, packaging plants, landfills, power plants and other hazardous sites could push chemicals into predominantly Black and brown communities, according to Toxic Tides, a new research project overseen by environmental health professors at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, Berkeley.

Such communities are more than five times more likely to be within a half-mile of such facilities in 2050 and more than six times more likely in 2100, according to the project.

See if your community is at risk on the Toxic Tides map

The majority of the toxic facilities are located in five counties: Alameda, Orange, San Mateo, Los Angeles and Contra Costa counties, according to the mapping project.

Researchers designed a series of interactive maps as part of the three-year project to highlight which facilities threaten lower-income communities of color.

"Because many of these facilities are disproportionately located in poor communities and communities of color, climate resilience strategies must address the disproportionate impacts of [sea-level rise] and associated flooding threats faced by environmental justice communities," according to the report.

The research comes just months after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed new legislation, authored by state Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), to mitigate sea-level rise in California.

"Sea level rise and climate change have begun to threaten iconic communities, precious ecosystems, and critical infrastructure up and down California’s coast," Atkins said in a September statement. "It’s vital that we make key investments and changes to our planning strategies to account for this climate reality."

The state's Legislative Analyst's Office estimated that California could see up to 7 feet of sea-level rise by the end of the century. Senate Bill 1 directs the California Coastal Commission to consider rising tides in future planning and policies, according to the state.

"It’s critical that all communities, especially communities of color and disadvantaged communities, are given the tools, funding, and support they need to address this climate change issue," Atkins said.

Newsom also included $3.7 billion in the California Comeback Plan this year to address climate change-related issues, including sea-level rise, according to his office.

Researchers with the Toxic Tides project said they aimed to characterize threats posed by sea-level rise and shared the online mapping tool with policymakers to help "protect vulnerable communities through current and emerging climate reliance policies."

"We know from past flood events that the wealthy communities are not the ones that suffer the greatest impacts," Lara Cushing, a UCLA environmental scientist who worked on the Toxic Tides project, told the Los Angeles Times. “The vulnerabilities of environmental justice communities to sea-level rise have not been front and center in the conversation in a way that it should be.”