Officials Reach $50 Million Dollar Community Benefits Agreement to Address Pollution at the L.A. Ports

On April 3rd, L.A. Harbor Commissioners approved a landmark $50 million community benefits agreement between a terminal operator and community, environmental and labor groups concerned about pollution associated with a proposed terminal expansion project.

The settlement came in response to action taken by LAANE and fifteen other organizations, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, Communities for a Safe Environment, the American Lung Association of California and the Change to Win Federation, who charged that an environmental review failed to adequately address the environmental and community impacts of the proposal to dramatically expand a terminal.

The Harbor Commission is planning a major expansion of the terminal operated by TraPac, Inc, which is owned by MOL, a Japanese shipping line. According to the environmental impact report prepared for the Port of Los Angeles, the expansion would increase terminal acreage by 38 percent and result in an increase of ports-related truck trips from 1.2 million to 1.9 million per year.

The environmental and labor groups had appealed to the L.A. City Council to block an initial decision by the L.A. Harbor Commission to allow the expansion to go forward.

LAANE played a lead role in negotiating the CBA, which includes funding for studies that will assess the impacts of port operations on surrounding communities and on local wetlands, air filtration systems and double paneled windows in schools impacted by port pollution, and resources for job training and local hire programs. TraPac agreed to establish a non-profit organization to implement the agreement, which also includes funds for local health clinics.

The fact that the Harbor Commission had not yet adopted the Clean Trucks Program advocated by the Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports had been one of the grounds for the December appeal to the City Council. Last month, at a meeting packed with truck drivers, environmentalists, and community groups, the L.A. Harbor Commission approved the Clean Trucks Program.

“What we’ve essentially won is a community benefits package for residents who are impacted by port operations,” said Patricia Castellanos, director of the ports campaign at LAANE. “This settlement – along with the L.A. Harbor Commission’s approval of the Clean Trucks Program – is an important step toward ensuring that all of L.A.’s residents have safe places to live and work.”