Sharply Split Testimony -- Industry vs.Enviros -- As LB Harbor Comm'n Votes |
(June 10, 2014, 8:15 a.m.) -- As seen LIVE on LBREPORT.com, after sharply split testimony from industry representatives and environmental and health advocates, LB's Harbor Commission voted 5-0 to approve two long term contracts that facilitate the continued export of bulk coal from the Port of LB. The action sets the stage for a possible appeal to the City Council that will show the incoming Council majority's stance on health impacts from Port activities...and tangentially raises the hot button issue of impacts from proposed expanded railyards sought by BNSF and UP (which have given campaign contributions to incoming Mayor Robert Garcia and a number of incoming and current Councilmembers.)
The coal being exported through the Port can't be burned here under U.S. environmental regulations but it is used abroad. In podium testimony, industry representatives noted that coal has been exported through the Port for decades and said the Port now strikes a good balance between the environment and business. In response to a podium inquiry by grassroots enviro advocate Ann Cantrell -- to which Harbor Commission President Doug Drummond publicly sought an answer -- PoLB staff acknowledged that SCAQMD's current rule 1158 doesn't prevent transporting coal and petroleum coke to and from the Port by train in open rail cars. Environmental advocates argued that exporting coal flew in the face of reducing use of fossil fuels, was inconsistent with PoLB's "Green Port" policies and subjected people in other countries to pollution we didn't accept for ourselves. Prior to the vote, Harbor Comm'n President Drummond sought to strike a conciliatory note, thanking environmental groups for their work but said the world is currently in transition away from fossil fuels but other countries that use the exported coal currently don't have energy options that the U.S. does. The Harbor Commission vote (the second of two votes, the first was in late May), recommended by PoLB staff, approved a twenty year agreement with Metropolitan Stevedore Co., which operates the Port's dry bulk terminal at Pier G (where the major commodity is petroleum coke but coal and soda ash are also exported.) Also approved was a 15 year agreement with Oxbow Carbon, which operates a storage shed at the Port under a sublease agreement with Metropolitan. [From LBREPORT.com's "amnesia file": Until the mid to late 1990s, bulk petroleum coke was piled in open air at the Port of LB, sending black dust into downtown and beyond. Port officials made endless excuses for this, at one point trying to attribute the soot to tire debris. Then newly-elected Councilman Alan Lowenthal made an issue of this, insisting on covering the open coke piles. After a sizable political battle, the City of LB ultimately supported [and the Port abandoned its previous resistance to] amending SCAQMD Rule 1158 to require covering bulk petroleum coke and coal, which are now housed inside sheds/barns on Port property.] In late May 2014, project attorney Morgan Wyenn of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Santa Monica office criticized the Port of LB's coal exporting practices and the two new contracts on NRDC's blog. [NRDC attorney Wyenn blog text]...These agreements require the Port to export 1.7 million metric tons of coal every year for the next five years. And after five years, the amount of coal required can be increased, without any input from the public. In its agendizing memo, PoLB staff stated [text shown below is from the Metropolitan agenda item] ...[PoLB agendizing memo re Metropolitan]...Metropolitan Stevedore Company (Metro) has provided stevedoring services in the Port of Long Beach since 1923 and has operated the Port’s dry bulk terminal on Pier G since 1962. The long standing relationship with Metro has been a successful and continuing the relationship would be beneficial to both parties. Metro currently operates on Pier G through the Second Amended and Restated Preferential Assignment Agreement HD-6655 (Restated PAA). The Agreement assigns to Metro 23.28 acres of land and facilities, including the wharf, conveyor system, ship loaders, Pad 7 (a vacant site) , and the Port-owned shed. The conveyor system serves eight sheds within the terminal. All but one shed were privately constructed through separate ground leases. The terminal provides an essential outlet for petroleum refining through exporting petroleum coke (a byproduct of the refining process). Although the predominant commodity handled through the terminal is petroleum coke, soda ash and coal are also exported through the terminal. The Restated PAA was effective as of April 1, 1981, and expires on March 31, 2016. Under the existing agreement, Metro pays the Port, as a pass through, tariff charges collected for the handling of bulk cargo on the terminal, as well as rent for the Port-owned shed, which Metro, in turn, subleases to Oxbow Carbon & Minerals, LLC. blog comments powered by Disqus
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