On 7-6 Vote, SCAQMD Board Dismisses Agency's Long Time Exec. Officer Dr. Barry Wallerstein; See Vote Tally
State Senate President Pro Tem de León blasts action; see his statement,
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(Mar. 4, 2016, 6:40 p.m.) -- In an action that may impact Long Beach in ways that aren't immediately clear, on a 7-6 vote (vote tally below) the governing board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District today (Mar. 4) dismissed Dr. Barry Wallerstein, D. Env., the regional clean-air agency's long-time Executive Officer.
The action took place in a closed session, publicly reported after the vote as follows:
The Board voted 13-0 to name Michael O'Kelly as Acting Executive Officer.
The item had been agendized as follows:
[Agendized text] It is also necessary for the Board to recess to closed session pursuant to Government Code §54956.9(d)(2) to confer with legal counsel for:
It is also necessary for the Board to recess to closed session pursuant to Government Code §54957 as specified below:
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION/DISCIPLINE/DISMISSAL/RELEASE/RESIGNATION
Title: Executive Officer
[Scroll down for further.]
Among those testifying before the Board went into closed session was Sylvia Betancourt of the LB Alliance for Children With Asthma. "Your names will be etched on the lungs of our community members," she said.
Following the Board's vote, state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D, Los Angeles) issued a statement denouncing the outcome:
[Sen. de León statement] Today's shameful action by SCAQMD is only the latest in a disturbing trend of dirty energy interests dismantling clean air rules that the public overwhelmingly supports. Californians recognize the importance of transitioning away from fossil fuels and building a clean energy future, both to prevent climate change and improve local air quality. We need strong leadership to address some of the worst air quality in the nation, not a rubber stamp committee for the oil industry agenda.
I'm extremely disappointed in the direction this board has taken under its new Republican majority. This hostile takeover, led by Supervisor Antonovich, has subverted the will of the people and undone decades of hard work that has unquestionably benefited all of the region's residents.
<>p>I want to commend Mr. Wallerstein for his outstanding leadership and commitment to protecting public health. We are all better off for his service. I will work to ensure the board returns to its core mission of improving and protecting air quality, rather than catering to oil industry needs.
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SCAQMD's Governing Board consists of 13 members: three appointees (one each by the Governor, Speaker of the Assembly and state Senate Rules Committee) and ten elected officials from the Counties and Cities of the South Coast Air Basin. For details on the Board's current membership, click here.
In February 2016, electeds from OC cities voted to put Lake Forest Councilman Dwight Robinson on the SCAQMD Board to replace Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido. Robinson is listed online as VP of the Los Angeles Harbor Grain Terminal, which operates at the Port of L.A. and describes itself on its Facebook page as striving "to provide transloading services that help reduce transportation costs, improve the timeliness of shipments, and provide added value to our customers." It descibes transloading on its website as moving a product from one form of transportation to another. "For example, we transfer soybean meal from railcars, into ocean containers. Once in ocean containers, the commodity can be shipped via ocean vessel any where in the world. Besides soybeans, we also handle haycubes, corn, wheat, beets in all forms; whole grains, pellets, grits, meals, and flours."
As indicated above, on the SCAQMD's 7-6 voted action, Lake Forest Councilman Robinson cast what amounted to the deciding vote to remove Dr. Wallerstein.
In May 2013, Dr. Wallerstein testified at an L.A. City Council hearing appealing the Port of Los Angeles' certification of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the BNSF-sought Southern California Int'l Gateway (SCIG) railyard proposed on land bordering a West Long Beach neighborhood.
Dr. Wallerstein disputed the Port of L.A.'s contention that the SCIG would produce cleaner air and said SCAQMD staff concluded that the result will worsen air quality. Dr. Wallerstein said the Port of L.A.'s claims about reduced pollutants were incorrect...and said that in the AQMD's entire history, it had never appeared before any body to oppose a project...until now. "We took this step because the pollution from the SCIG will harm public health and because the project does not include feasible mitigation measures as required under CEQA."
Dr. Wallerstein displayed an air filter from an AQMD air monitor -- after one day -- at Hudson school in West Long Beach.
Screen save from City of LA video stream, carried on LBREPORT.com
"This filter shows the type of air pollution that exists in the community today. It's a January sample of particulate pollution. It came from an AQMD monitor at Hudson Elementary School (2335 Webster Ave.) near the SCIG site. The filter paper goes in pure white and it came out this way just after one day, and the dark color indicates highly toxic emissions."
Dr. Wallerstein indicated that AQMD staff found that the project will significantly increase particulate emissions and that nitrogen oxides emitted from the project will more than double compared to without the SCIG. Noting that the Port of L.A. contends that pollution levels in the adjacent community will be lower, Dr. Wallerstein said, "Our [AQMD] review with our air quality experts indicates that that is not so, that the EIR overstates future pollution levels without SCIG, making the project appear more beneficial, so we strongly disagree with the chart that has been presented to you."
Dr. Wallerstein asked the Council to send the EIR back to the Port and said AQMD is "committed to work with the Port to resolve these issues and bring you back an acceptable project." [The L.A. City Council voted 11-2 (Perry and Parks dissenting, then-Mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti absent for the entire item) to deny multiple appeals and approve a final Environmental Impact Report.]
[The SCIG EIR issue is now being litigated. The City of Long Beach is among court appellants on EIR issues, but to date the LB City Council hasn't taken a publicly voted position flatly opposing the proposed railyard. Although the West Long Beach Association and other groups have argued that the railyard belongs in the port and not next to their neighborhoods, Mayors Foster and Garcia and their respective Councils have instead sought what they call "mitigation" for the railyard's anticipated impacts.]
Dr. Wallerstein's 2013 testimony paralleled a presentation he made at a groundbreaking Feb. 2005 conference in Long Beach, titled "Growing Pains: Health and Community Impacts of Goods Movement and the Ports," organized by Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center based at USC's Keck School of Medicine. During the event, Dr. Wallerstein drew gasps when he displayed an air filter that had been exposed to the air for 30 days in Bixby Knolls at SCAQMD's (now relocated) monitoring in the 3600 block of Long Beach Blvd. The sample was taken on Dec. 17, 2003.
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SCAQMD's website [as of Mar. 4 at 4:25 p.m.] described Dr. Wallerstein as follows:
[SCAQMD website text, as of Mar. 4, 4:30 p.m.] Barry R. Wallerstein holds a doctorate in environmental science and engineering from the University of California at Los Angeles, and M.S. and B.S. degrees in biological science from the University of Southern California. He has over 30 years of experience in urban planning and environmental assessment, with an emphasis in air pollution control and public policy development. Dr. Wallerstein has served at SCAQMD in various positions since 1984, and was appointed Executive Officer in August 1997. Dr. Wallerstein has also worked as an Environmental Control Administrator for Northrop, and was a member of the rule development staff in the Mobile Source Division of the California Air Resources Board early in his career.
Dr. Wallerstein currently serves on the Board of Directors of the California Air Pollution Control Officers Association, on the Mobile Sources Technical Review Subcommittee of the federal Clean Air Act Advisory Committee, and as a Ex Officio Member of the Executive Committee of the National Academy of Sciences’ Transportation Research Board. He also serves on a variety of advisory boards at UC Davis, UCLA, UC Riverside and USC, which focus on research and public-private partnerships to help identify coordinated solutions for Southern California’s regional urban challenges. Dr. Wallerstein previously served as Co-President of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies. His professional accomplishments were recognized by UCLA with his admission to the School of Public Health Alumni Hall of Fame.
