San Pedro Community Protests Railyard Project, 2/1/12

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2012 

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San Pedro Community Protests Railyard Project

Environmental, health and economy experts join port-area residents to testify against plans

San Pedro, CA—Community members and environment and health advocates gathered this morning to officially voice their concerns about the Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) project. If built as proposed by the Port of Los Angeles (POLA), the 153-acre railyard will be the largest of its kind in the country. Officials at POLA and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railway have touted the project as a path to improving air quality while creating jobs; but experts predict the opposite effect.

The railyard’s opponents—including the Coalition for Clean Air, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, and Coalition for a Safe Environment—argue that the draft environmental impact report (EIR) ignores more than 30 studies showing lung cancer in workers exposed to diesel exhaust. The Long Beach Unified School District Board of Education opposed the EIR, saying that the port has failed to analyze the railyard’s impacts on the public schools situated just a few hundred yards away.

“As the proposal stands now, this railyard is going to increase pollution, noise and traffic in multiple areas, including Long Beach, Carson and Wilmington,” said Luis Cabrales, deputy director of campaigns at the Coalition for Clean Air. “Many of those who will be impacted live in low-income communities that already bear those heavy burdens.”

“If this project is built, the residents…will suffer negative health and quality-of-life impacts for decades," said Long Beach resident and environmental justice advocate Elena Rodriguez.

Long Beach City Council has asked POLA to clarify various concerns, including inaccuracies, the lack of plans for zero-emission technologies, and a disregard for the potential job loss from relocating businesses.

“We are concerned that the SCIG will cost more jobs to the local economy than the project will ever create,” said Dwight Robinson, vice president of the Los Angeles Harbor Grain Terminal, which ships agricultural products from California to consumers all over Asia. “Our company provides a service that only one or two other companies in the West Coast provide, yet SCIG plans do not include us in the picture,” he added.

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With offices in Sacramento, Los Angeles and Fresno, the nonprofit Coalition for Clean Air has worked to restore clean air to California since 1971. We are dedicated to reducing emissions and improving public health through advocacy, outreach and education. For more information, visit www.ccair.org.