By Mark Edward Nero
The governing boards of the Los Angeles and Long Beach seaports plan to hold a joint public meeting Nov. 17 to discuss proposals for updating their 10-year-old San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP) document.
Developed over the past year, the CAAP Discussion Document outlines the ports’ plans for expanding the aggressive strategies that have succeeded in reducing air pollution from port-related sources over the last decade.
The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Port of Long Beach Maintenance Facility, 725 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach, 90802. The meeting will also air live online at www.portoflosangeles.org and www.polb.com.
Highlights of the Discussion Document include the implementation of a path toward zero emissions, the next iteration of the Clean Truck Program, and innovative strategies to encourage the deployment of cleaner ships. The ports say they developed the proposals with input from industry, regulatory, community and environmental stakeholders.
“With this update, we are identifying the path forward to meet our clean air goals and curtail impacts on local communities,” Port of Long Beach Interim Chief Executive Duane Kenagy said.
Building on the success of the original plan and a 2010 update, the new iteration of the CAAP is expected to contain a comprehensive set of near-term and long-term strategies to help the region achieve its clean air goals, support the statewide vision for more sustainable freight, and set a new goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through 2050.
The Discussion Document is now available at www.polb.com, www.portoflosangeles.org and www.cleanairactionplan.org.
According to the latest annual inventories released earlier this year, the two ports’ clean air programs have reduced diesel particulate matter up to 85 percent, cut nitrogen oxides in half, eliminated 97 percent of sulfur oxides, and shrunk GHG an average of 12 percent. The results are reflective of the ports’ combined clean air progress in collaboration with industry, regulatory, community and environmental partners since 2005, according to the latest annual inventories released earlier this year.
The results also show the ports continue to exceed their 2023 targets for reducing DPM and SOx (77 percent and 93 percent, respectively) and are closing in on their 2023 target of reducing NOx emissions 59 percent.
The ports' plan to release a draft of the 2017 CAAP Update for final review and consideration by their governing boards early next year.
There will be public review and comment process through Feb. 17, 2017, during which written comments can be submitted to caap@cleanairactionplan.org.
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
