Long Beach terminal study approved

Long Beach terminal study approved    Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners on Monday approved an environmental study of the Middle Harbor Redevelopment project that will allow a $750 million renovation of two terminals to move forward.
   Cargo handling capacity at the facility will be doubled and rail capacity increased. Construction, which is expected to take a decade to complete, could begin by then end of the year.
   Following a six-hour meeting that included public comment from nearly 60 speakers, the Harbor Commission’s 5-0 vote Monday certified the 1,500-page environmental impact report/environmental impact study, and approved the permits and other documents to allow construction to begin.
   The port said the project will generate as many as 1,000 construction jobs a year, as well as 14,000 jobs in the goods-movement industry region wide.
   Construction will be phased in, allowing cargo operations to continue at the two terminals, Long Beach Container Terminal and California United Terminals
   James C. Hankla, president of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners said “These two shipping terminals are among the oldest in the port; they must be modernized and improved.
   “This is a chance to move these two terminals into the modern era, into the container shipping industry’s greener and more business-friendly future,” he said.
   The terminal will have 65,000 feet of railroad track, allowing nearly one-third of all the cargo at Middle Harbor to be moved by train. The two terminals will be merged into a single 345-acre facility with 51 acres added by filling in slips.
   The port said pollution will be reduced by requiring vessels calling at the terminal to burn low sulfur fuel when they are within 40 miles of the port and to plug into shore-side electricity and turn off their main and auxiliary engines. Also, it said emissions from trucks, railroads and equipment at the terminal will be reduced through the use of the cleanest equipment and fuel.