West Park must deliver a draft environmental impact report, predicting how the project would affect people and nature, including traffic, air quality and farmland preservation analyses.
A jumbo industrial complex planned near Crows Landing could take advantage of a new state law that fast-tracks environmental lawsuits against large projects. Assembly Bill 900 might benefit West Park if someone challenges environmental studies due in June.
Riverbank and Oakdale officials are keeping their eyes on a plan to open a quarry in Tuolumne County. The focus of their concern: trains that would haul crushed rock from the open-pit mine and go through their cities. The Sierra Northern trains could be as long as two-thirds of mile and lurch along at 10 mph.
