Let Port Pay for Local Cleanups, Flores Urges

Harbor-area Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores called Tuesday for an overhaul of state and federal regulations that require the Port of Los Angeles to spend millions of dollars to restore polluted wetlands hundreds of miles away, while preventing it from cleaning up local pollution and environmental problems.

Flores introduced a motion instructing port and city officials to develop a list of local environmental “mitigation proposals,” including the enhancement of Harbor Lake in Wilmington, San Pedro Bay, Ballona Creek near Marina del Rey, Santa Monica Bay and the Santa Monica Mountains.

Legislation Urged

The motion, referred to the City Council’s Industry and Economic Development Committee, also calls on the city to push for state and federal legislation to allow the port to select the local projects even if they do not meet existing criteria. Under a complex system of state and federal regulations, the port is required to offset environmental damage it causes to San Pedro Bay by enhancing wetlands.

As part of its expansion effort, for example, the port has agreed to pay millions of dollars to restore San Diego County’s Batiquitos Lagoon in exchange for permission to build new landfills in San Pedro Bay. In addition, Pacific Texas Corp., which wants to operate a pipeline from one of the new landfills, is committed to spending $15 million on Batiquitos.

Port officials have said they had no choice but to look outside Los Angeles because local projects either did not qualify or were too small. One of the most visible environmental problems in the harbor area--polluted Harbor Lake--was rejected because it is a freshwater lake and considered too far from the ocean under existing regulations.

“Under the current guidelines, environmental mitigation projects do not benefit the urban areas that are impacted by the port construction projects,” Flores said in a press release. “I believe the mitigation benefits should go first to the areas that must bear the burdens.”

Flores’ office consulted with port officials when writing the motion, and Bernie Evans, Flores’ chief deputy, said the port will be involved in piecing together a final proposal to present to state and federal officials. Evans said the City Council will hold hearings on the proposal and the city may also hire a consultant.

‘Millions at Stake’

“There are tens of millions of dollars--possibly hundreds of millions--at stake over the next few decades,” Evans said. “Our goal is to make sure that some of that money goes to improve the environment here in our area. . . . We are not saying all of the money should stay here. We just think it should be fair.”

Port spokeswoman Julia Nagano said the port “certainly supports mitigation closer to our boundaries,” but she said the port would not back out of commitments already made to restoring Batiquitos Lagoon.

Evans said one of the goals of Flores’ proposal--which would apply to all ports in California--is to get ports out of the environmental mitigation business. Currently, ports must find a project to offset their expansion plans, negotiate a deal with local, state and federal officials and then monitor the mitigation effort.

Under Flores’ plan, ports would be able to pay fees to an environmental trust fund, which would have a board to administer the money and select worthy projects.