Port of LA responds to court’s ruling on SCIG project

The ruling found that the Port of Los Angeles was in almost complete compliance with state environmental quality requirements, despite opponents’ claims to the contrary.    The Port of Los Angeles says that it’s “pleased” with a recent court ruling regarding a planned on-dock railway, because the ruling refutes opponents’ contention that the project didn’t comply with a statewide environmental protection statute.
   On Jan. 12, the California Courts of Appeal published a 45-page decision regarding the environmental impact report (EIR) for the Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) project being built by BNSF Railway at the Port of Los Angeles.
   The railway company also says that if built, the SCIG would reduce truck traffic, freeway congestion and air pollution by eliminating about 1.3 million truck trips annually along a 24-mile stretch of the Long Beach (710) Freeway to BNSF’s Hobart Yard near downtown Los Angeles.
   The City of Long Beach and others have sued to try and stop the project.
   In addition to the city, plaintiffs in the litigation include the South Coast Air Quality Management District, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, several environmental and legal groups and trucking companies, and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.
   They have contended in their lawsuit that the SCIG project doesn’t comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a statute requiring state and local agencies to identify the significant environmental impacts of their actions and to avoid or mitigate those impacts.
   However, in its Jan. 12 ruling, the Courts of Appeal indicated that the Port of Los Angeles and BNSF were in compliance with the vast majority of CEQA requirements, except one issue to be further reviewed, the EIR’s air quality analysis of ambient air concentrations and cumulative impacts of such pollutant concentrations.
   That one issue however, was enough for the court to issue a judgement ruling that activities at the site be suspended until BNSF and the port “have taken the necessary actions to comply with CEQA.”
   But the finding that the Port of Los Angeles was in almost complete compliance with CEQA requirements – despite opponents’ claims to the contrary – was something the port keyed in on.
   “The Courts of Appeal concluded that the EIR’s analysis of the Hobart rail yard, greenhouse gas emissions, noise, and transportation, among others, complied with the California Environmental Quality Act,” Port of Los Angeles spokesman Phillip Sanfield said.
   “The Port of Los Angeles is pleased with the decision and will be discussing next steps with BNSF Railway in the future,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said in a statement provided to American Shipper.