LB Harbor Comm'n OK's Project With British Petroleum To Begin "Cold Ironing" (Shoreside Electrical Power To Avoid Polluting Shipboard Engines At Berth) In Mid To Late 2006...Or Perhaps Sooner

(August 30, 2004) -- Video cameras whirred (Fox 11 KTTV above), reporters scribbled and Port of LB and British Petroleum (BP) officials received plaudits from LB's Mayor, regional, state and federal air quality regulators, plus a local environmental leader, in announcing a project to begin cold ironing (using shoreside electrical power to avoid using polluting shipboard engines at berth) with at least two BP ships at berth T121 in mid to late 2006...if not sooner.

"I predict that at least by September 2006 -- and hopefully long before that date -- when BP ships start plugging into the shore power, it will mark the beginning of the cold ironing era in the Port of Long Beach," said Harbor Commission President John Calhoun at a celebratory event outside LB's Harbor Administration building.

The event was held shortly after the Port's governing Board of Harbor Commissioners approved a Memorandum of Understanding with BP to proceed with the cold ironing plan. It will require cost outlays by both parties: approx. $2.5 million by the PoLB to develop onshore facilities and approx $2 million by BP to retrofit at least two of its tankers ($1 million per tanker).

On the dais were LB Mayor Beverly O'Neill, British Petroleum's Carson refinery business unit leader & refinery manager Tim Scruggs, representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, CA Air Resources Board and South Coast Air Quality Management District and PoLB Executive Director Richard Steinke.

Among those in the audience were LB City Councilmembers Bonnie Lowenthal (foreground) and Tonia Reyes Uranga (at left in photo).

Also attending (not pictured) were Mark Taylor (chief of staff to Councilman Dan Baker); Melissa Infusino (chief of staff to Councilman Patrick O'Donnell); Jonny Turcios (aide to Councilman Val Lerch), aides to Assemblymembers Alan Lowenthal, Jenny Oropeza and state Senator Betty Karnette, and Aquarium of the Pacific President and CEO Dr. Jerry Schubel.

The full Harbor Commission attended. Commissioners Mario Cordero, James C. Hankla, Doris Topsy-Elvord and John Hancock were in the audience; Commission President John Calhoun (photo with remarks below) was on the dais.

LBReport.com posts extended excerpts of the proceedings below:

Tom Johnson, Ph.D., Manager of Environmental Planning, Port of LB: Welcome to another milestone in the Port of Long Beach "Healthy Harbor" program...

Thanks to the Board of Harbor Commissioners commitment, the support of Executive Director Dick Steinke, and the willing partnership of British Petroleum, today we are taking the first step in bringing cold ironing to berth T121.

I particularly want to emphasize the role of British Petroleum, which volunteered for a program that is more expensive than the old way of doing business but is much better for the environment. There's no legal pressure on BP to do this project. They volunteered to spend time, effort and money to make their vessels and their operations at T121 more environmentally friendly. So a warm thank you to BP, a company that is as green as its logo. [applause]...

...BP and the Port of Long Beach are both spending a significant amount of money to make this project happen. BP has committed $2 million to making two of their ships capable of plugging into shore power, turning off their diesel engines and using electricity to run the vessel equipment, including the large pumps that offload the cargo of oil.

Today our [Harbor Commission] Board allocated $2.5 million to build the shoreside infrastructure that will bring that electricity to BP's ships.

We estimate that this program will eliminate in excess of 45 tons of priority pollutants every year, and over 900 tons of greenhouse gases...

...Healthy Harbor in Long Beach, of which this is a part, is not just a slogan or a catch phrase, and this project today shows that it is a reality, a series of programs created to improve air quality, water quality and the marine habitat. We've cut way back on petroleum coke dust, we've reduced vessel speeds as they approach the harbor, we've cleaned up storm water runoff into the harbor and restored marine habitat in the midst of this very busy port.

Today we're taking another giant step toward air quality improvements. Although there's still a long road ahead, we're proud of how far we've come with BP's help in such a short period of time.

None of this could have happened without the vision and the leadership that have been provided by the Board of Harbor Commissioners and Beverly O'Neill, who picked people with the foresight and the vision to run the Port of Long Beach...

John R. Calhoun, President, LB Board of Harbor Commissioners: This is a day that all of us at the Port and the City of Long Beach have long been looking forward to...With this cold ironing project, we are taking a big step away from total reliance on diesel engines and moving toward cleaner air.

We are tackling one of the region's most significant problems one vessel -- make that two vessels in the case of BP -- at a time. I'll tell you, this was the easiest yes vote that I've ever cast as a Harbor Commissioner.

I'm confident that this project is just a start and that more and more vessels calling at the Port of Long Beach will replace their diesel power with electric power while at berth. Every change for the better has a starting place and I predict that at least by September 2006 -- and hopefully long before that date -- when BP ships start plugging into the shore power, it will mark the beginning of the cold ironing era in the Port of Long Beach.

We all know that commitments like the kind BP is making, even in belt tightening times like this, show a company can care about business and the environment at the same time...BP has stepped up to the plate to make the improvements and enhance the quality of life for the people who work in the harbor, the residents and businesspeople and visitors of Long Beach, and the people throughout the entire region, and I commend them for looking beyond the bottom line.

And speaking of good citizens, let me now turn the microphone over to Mayor O'Neill, the nation's finest Mayor, and one of the city's leaders [applause] who has been pushing for clean air and a better environment for a long time...[stronger applause]

Hon. Beverly O'Neill, Mayor of the City of LB: ...One of the consequences that we have had of the growth of the Port is of course with our increased trade with Pacific Rim nations has been the amount of diesel emissions that we've had in the air, and with this increased activity that we have, we of course have more air pollution. And in the Port, none of us really expected this rapid change that we have found in the last few years, and the time is now that we start concentrating on the environment.

And I am very impressed with the fact that the Port has started, last year I think it was, getting together all of the project they're having and putting them in a Healthy Harbor initiative...

The Port of course is a success. We know that. It's our city's most powerful economic force and the generator of thousands and thousands of jobs...And because of the Port's success, the air quality needs immediate attention...

...Cold ironing is but one way to ease air pollution, and today it's the best announcement we could make to our citizens...that BP has stepped to the plate, because the containers are going to continue to grow, consumer demand is increasing, the homes in Long Beach are going to stay, and so we need to continue to work for mutual solutions to the problems that we have and cold ironing is one way to do that.

Plugging in the BP ships is like driving a hybrid car: the engine turns off and electricity takes over. One day those cars will be the norm and one day cold ironing will be the standard for us, not the exception at the Port of Long Beach...

Tim Scruggs, Carson Business Unit Leader, Refinery Mgr., British Petroleum: ...Our operations in California represent one of the largest concentrations of assets and of people anywhere in this world that BP operates, and we operate in a hundred countries around this world...

...On a daily basis, our refinery is developing cleaner products and producing them with ever fewer emissions...Recently, the Financial Times, ranked BP as one of the world's most respected companies on environmental management and responsibility...

We believe that our long term future depends on our environmental performance and in addressing the issues that result from the use of our major product: petroleum fuels. It may have been enough in the past to focus exclusively on operational performance, generating health financial returns, but in today's environment, enduring growth depends on something more important: being a good corporate citizen.

...Today is about a true partnership between the Port of Long Beach, to go beyond what is required, to work hand in hand and to help reduce emissions...There is no place we operate where we are as pleased to be, where the representatives work as well with us and help us in our operations as much as Long Beach and the Port of Long Beach...

Wayne Nastri, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Administrator Region 9: ...[A]nything that we can do to help clean the air is something that we're definitely going to be very supportive of...We at EPA have been working very closely along the entire western region, the western coast of the United States, to really promote these type of efforts, to show leadership. But today we're lauding not only the Port of Long Beach, not only the City of Long Beach and British Petroleum, but all those who take the leadership...

When you look at the challenge that the ports have, I mean here in Long Beach alone, the twelfth busiest container port in the world, and it's growing, how are we going to maintain the challenge of keeping that economic competitiveness and still preserving...our most precious resource, the environment? I think that we're doing that today and I think that we're going to continue to do so...

Jerry Martin, Air Resources Board Director of Communications: The Air Resources Board today would like to commend the Port of Long Beach and BP for its efforts to introduce cold ironing. In California every day, ships and harbors emit roughly 16 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions. Most of those are in the largest ports like Long Beach. They also emit a number of other pollutants, and those have significant impacts in the community, particularly those directly fronting the port. Emissions in Long Beach make up one quarter of all the pollution from this area and the state of California again wants to commend BP and the Port of Long Beach [for their cold ironing efforts].

Pam Miller, South Coast Air Quality Mgmt. District: ...I would like to congratulate the Port of Long Beach and BP on their leadership role in this voluntary program to reduce air pollution and emissions at the Port.

The Port clearly is one of the largest sources of air pollution...Cleaning up the port is one of the most important tasks facing us in the South Coast Air Basin, as we move toward restoring healthful air quality...Since the oceangoing ships are largely unregulated, reducing ship emissions will take cooperation and initiatives of all parties involved, both local, state, federal and international agencies as well as the community and industry members. That's why it's such a pleasure to be here today to see that all parties that need to be involved are involved in this project...

Richard Steinke, Port of LB Executive Director: ...I had a very nice speech prepared but it seems like everybody was thinking the same thing, and I guess that's the sign of real, true partnership...

And it starts with the City, and the dedication of Mayor O'Neill. She has been a champion for the Port of Long Beach. [As] she mentioned, she recognizes the Port as an economic engine, but also as a responsible party when it comes to growth. We wouldn't be here today without the help and the push of a couple of Councilmembers: Councilmember Bonnie Lowenthal, thank you, and Councilmember Dan Baker who is not with us today, but cold ironing has been on their radar screen for many months. And meetings with some of our tenants proved that is was something that we could move toward, so thank you very much for your encouragement.

In addition, we need to take time to recognize our partner in this project, British Petroleum. BP volunteered for this program, and despite its expense, I think they recognize that it's the right thing to do...

I also want to thank my bosses, the Board of Harbor Commissioners...The Board of Harbor Commissioners has not blinked. Mr. Calhoun said it was the easiest yes vote that he's ever made. It may have come with a gulp because it's not without expense, but thank you for your leadership, the Board, for doing the right thing as we move forward...

I especially want thank...the Port staff. [PoLB Director of Planning] Bob Kanter [Ph.D] could not be with us today, and he did a lot of the heavy lifting...

As the Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach, I just want to say how proud I am for what we're doing today. We forged a collaboration with all of the other parties. One day this may become the standard, but we've got off to a great head start thanks to the cooperation of all the people here...

Veteran environmentalist Don May, president of California Earth Corps, also attended...and praised the PoLB for its plan to begin cold ironing:

"It's a great day. We've worked for this one for a long time and BP and the Port should be congratulated on moving ahead. I hope this is the first of many...[I]t'll make it a whole lot easier for everybody else. One of these days, time will tell, when we see a lot of cold ironing all through the Port.," Mr. May told LBReport.com.

A fact sheet on the Port of LB's cold ironing project, part of its Healthy Harbor initiative, says emissions resulting from burning fuel by vessels "are one of the largest sources of port pollution in the harbor area. A third of these emissions come from vessel engines used to provide electrical power while vessels are at berth."

Under the PoLB MOU with BP approved on Aug. 30 by LB's Board of Harbor Commissioners, a shore side electrical facility will be built at Berth T121 to provide electrical power to BP vessels at berth. BP has agreed to retrofit at least two tankers to use electricity to power shipboard equipment, including pumps to offload oil. The retrofitted tankers are expected to visit the PoLB an average of 12 times a year, bringing Alaskan crude oil to BP's southern California refinery.

PoLB's fact sheet says cold ironing at Berth T121 "is projected to reduce greenhouse emissions by approximately 70-80 tons per vessel call. Each vessel call is projected to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM) and hydrocarbons by a total of 3-4 tones per vessel call."

Development, planning and construction will take about two years...with a tentative completion date of October 2006.

In terms of future development, the PoLB says BP will consider retrofitting more ships that call at the Port of LB...and the Port is looking for other locations to add more cold-ironing facilities and is in discussions with other tenants to gauge their level of interest.

The Port of LB recently required the use of cold ironing as a condition of approval of the Pier J South EIS/EIR, the PoLB Healthy Harbor fact sheet notes...adding that "expanding the [cold ironing] program is of paramount priority to the Port."

Earlier this year, the Port of Los Angeles began cold ironing for some ships following a lawsuit brought and settled by the Natural Resources Defense Council.