A decades-long battle over China Shipping Terminal and pollution at the Port of Los Angeles may be over after POLA officials OK’d an extensive report this week that sets aside the 2019 environmental impact report for the terminal at Berths 97-109 and requires a new environmental document. The decision follows a c ourt ruling over the terminal from late last month. “Obviously this is a situation that’s been ongoing for many, many years,” ILWU Local 13 member Sal DiCostanzo said during the public comment portion of the harbor commission’s Thursday, June 27, meting, commending the port for what appeared to be the latest outcome in the battle.
Both the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have since embarked on an ambitious “clean ports” mission that was largely kick-started by the issues that were raised during the early China Shipping days. It was a group of San Pedro residents who fired the first shot in what was to become the decades-long battle over port pollution at the 142-acre China Shipping terminal. The issue has gone back and forth ever since.
And while it appears this could be a final step toward a final resolution , litigants remain cautious and say that still remains to be seen. “I think we’re finally getting close,” Jackie Prange, senior litigating counsel for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a telephone interview after the vote. “The community has been waiting so long to actually have mitigation in place.
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