The mountains of coal and petroleum coke...

The mountains of coal and petroleum coke bound for Asia are gone. Chunks of black hydrocarbon no longer rumble along the conveyor belts of the huge bulk loader that towers over the dock.

It has been a year since a cargo ship called at the Port of Los Angeles’ old Kaiser terminal. Nevertheless, a Santa Monica-based environmental group charges that the former coal facility keeps on polluting the harbor’s air and water in violation of state and federal law.

Last week, BayKeeper sued the city’s Harbor Department in U.S. District Court, alleging that the port, along with ICF Kaiser International Corp., has refused to clean up the terminal and nearby ocean bottom, where large amounts of coal, petroleum coke and copper have been spilled for a decade.

Particles of residual coal and petroleum coke that blanket the 25-acre site like soil continue to drain into the sea during rainstorms or blow off the site into surrounding marinas and residential areas, BayKeeper charges.

Scientists say that organic chemicals from coal and petroleum coke can harm bottom-dwelling creatures, such as shrimp and worms. The toxic materials can work their way up the food chain as fish and birds feed on the smaller marine life.

Just as significant, fine particles of petroleum coke carried aloft by the wind can aggravate human respiratory illnesses, like asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia.

“The operation is gone, but their pollution is the gift that keeps on giving,” said Terry Tamminen, BayKeeper’s president. “Worse yet, taxpayers are going to be left holding the bag because the port has let Kaiser off the hook.”

Removal of Coal Sought

BayKeeper, which has 600 members, is seeking a federal court order to force the port and the former owners of the now-defunct Kaiser stevedoring company to remove the remaining coal and petroleum coke from the terminal and ocean floor near the wharf.

The organization also has asked the court to impose civil penalties of $27,500 per day for every violation of federal clean water laws at the site. If imposed, the penalties would be paid to the U.S. government.

The port, which owns the terminal property, and attorneys for Kaiser dispute BayKeeper’s allegations, saying that the site has been cleaned up substantially and complies with all state and federal pollution control laws.

“The place has been examined by outside experts to see if there is any pollution. They say there is no contamination,” said Steven A. Broiles, an attorney for Kaiser’s owners. “There is no coal and no coke there. I don’t know what they are so concerned about.”

Barbara Yamamoto, a spokeswoman for the port, said that water samples taken by Kaiser and the Harbor Department found some coal and a small amount of petroleum coke. The material was “inert,” she said, and did not pose a threat to the environment.

“We have reviewed the site and are convinced Kaiser has fulfilled the terms of its permit to operate,” Yamamoto said. “There is residual coal over there. But even if it’s residual, it can still be in compliance with the law.”

But if it turns out that the terminal does not meet pollution standards, Yamamoto said, the port will expect its former tenant to clean up the property.

The Kaiser terminal is one of several coal facilities in the port that have become controversial. For years, harbor area workers, residents, San Pedro community activists and environmentalists have complained about coal and petroleum coke dust and their potential health effects.

Among the most notable sites is the Los Angeles Export Terminal, a storage and loading site for coal and petroleum coke bound for Asia.

Earlier this year, the operators of the terminal, which is partly owned by the Port of Los Angeles, reneged on a pledge to build dome-shaped sheds over the facility’s petroleum coke piles. They have since reversed themselves again, and the terminal is now raising money to build the domes.

20 Years of Complaints

Goldie Otters, 80, a community activist in San Pedro, said she and her neighbors have complained about the Kaiser International terminal for 20 years. Kaiser, which took over the site from an earlier owner, operated the facility for 10 years until December 1997, when the export terminal began operations.

“The black dust accumulates on everything--my deck, the newspaper, the car,” said Otters, who lives across from the Kaiser site. “We’ve been told it’s just dust and dirt from the road, but studies show it’s petroleum coke. I don’t believe the port when they say it’s clean over here.”

BayKeeper first sued Kaiser International about a year ago, charging that the company was violating its state and federal permits to operate. Reed Super, an attorney for BayKeeper, said the group decided this month to add the port to the case because it has not done anything about the property.

Super contends that Kaiser was granted state permits to operate on the condition that it would not discharge any pollution into the air and water.

But studies and tests, he said, show that pollution came from the site during its operation and has continued since the terminal closed. According to BayKeeper, coal is three feet thick on some parts of the ocean floor near the wharf.

If a facility is polluting the air and water, federal permits are required that subject the operation to established limits, inspections and periodic monitoring. Super alleges that neither Kaiser nor the port have the appropriate permit.

“What is satisfactory to the port is not satisfactory to us or the environment,” Super said. “Kaiser and the port are in denial. They are like ostriches with their heads in the sand, but in this case it is coal dust.”

Broiles takes the position that Kaiser is not responsible for any cleanup because the facility was closed by the time BayKeeper sued. Just as important, he said, the Harbor Department is satisfied with the present condition of the property.

“The grounds have been cleaned up. Drains have been sealed, and the soil has been moved out,” Broiles said. “We are not aware of any pollution.”