Port Officials Will Rethink Wilmington Rail Yard Proposal

In response to angry protests from neighbors of a proposed Wilmington rail yard, the harbor commission appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has directed the Port of Los Angeles staff to rethink the scope of the project with the goal of slashing diesel pollution from trucks.

The commission instructed the port staff to look for innovative ways to move cargo from docks to the rail yard, such as using trucks powered by electricity and liquefied natural gas. The staff also will review the potential use of magnetic levitation trains, the commission’s president, S. David Freeman, said Friday.

Port critics responded enthusiastically. Environmental attorney Julie Masters of the Natural Resources Defense Council and Wilmington activist Jesse Marquez said they could not recall the port changing a project’s scope in the face of public criticism.

A spokeswoman for BNSF Railway, which would operate the 153-acre rail yard, also said the potential for cleaner cargo transport should be evaluated.

The change marks the first time that the new commissioners have altered the course of a major project since beginning work Sept. 14. It means that for now, the Villaraigosa administration may have defused a conflict with Harbor-area residents who say the city-owned port treats the working-class area as a “sacrifice zone” that is buffeted by air pollution, noise and truck traffic.

The new commissioners want to send a strong signal that the port has changed direction, Freeman said.

“We felt that we ought to make sure the community knew we actually heard them and brought them into the picture,” said Freeman, who has repeatedly said his goal at the port is to promote both clean air and business growth.

Freeman, the former general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said the additional research should not delay the project.

BNSF has pledged to make the yard a model of environmentally sound technology, using LNG switching engines and cranes powered by electricity to reduce diesel fuel pollution, a carcinogen that has caused mounting health concerns in the Los Angeles Basin. A state study released last week found heightened cancer risk from the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex extending as far as 15 miles inland.

Harbor-area residents fear that the projected 1 million truck trips a year to the rail yard would sharply worsen air pollution problems in Wilmington and in West Long Beach. More than 300 residents packed an Oct. 6 public hearing, where most speakers denounced the project.

Commissioners first broached the notion of providing cleaner dock-to-yard transport at a commission meeting Wednesday, and Freeman interrupted speakers at a second public hearing Thursday to promise that the port would investigate such measures.

Port officials said Friday that they would broaden the scope of the environmental review and extend the period of public review by 45 days.

At the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the announcement was praised by Henry Hogo, assistant deputy director for science and technology advancement.

The air district is co-sponsoring an LNG truck demonstration project and would work with the port on a similar effort, Hogo said. But he added that he hoped port officials also would consider scrapping the rail yard idea and instead push for an “on-dock” facility to load cargo onto trains.