The Port of San Diego said March 12 that it has issued a
notice of preparation for a draft Environmental Impact Report to study the
potential effects of a proposed modernization plan for the 96-acre, eight
berth terminal.
The proposed plan would create three terminals within the
existing footprint, plus bring additional cargo through the terminal,
particularly the types within the port’s specialties of break-bulk cargo,
military and energy parts, refrigerated containers for fresh produce and clean
bulk cargo used in construction.
Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal is currently home to one of
only two on-dock cold storage facilities on the West Coast. The refrigerated
space handles 185 million Dole bananas each month; every Dole banana sold west
of the Rocky Mountains, from Mexico to Canada enters through the terminal.
The proposal includes the removal of obsolete infrastructure
and facilities upgrades in order to handle more cargo in an efficient and
environmentally responsible way.
“The proposed plan will optimize the Tenth Avenue Marine
Terminal as a vital, global gateway for imports and exports and boost San Diego’s
role as a true global city of the 21st Century,” Port of San Diego Maritime
Director Joel Valenzuela said in a statement.
Issuing the notice of preparation gives agencies, the public
and other interested parties the opportunity to comment on possible environmental
impacts of the project. Comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. Tues., April 14,
2015 and should be e-mailed to lhofreiter@portofsandiego.org. They may also be mailed to the San Diego Unified Port District, Environmental
& Land Use Management Department, 3165 Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA
92101.
In addition to providing comments by mail and e-mail, the
public will have the opportunity to provide input at a scoping meeting for the
project’s EIR. The meeting is planned for 5:30 pm Wed., March 18 at the San
Diego Unified Port District Administration Building, Training Room, 3165
Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA 92101.
