An agreement between the American Trucking Associations and the Long Beach Harbor Commission could illegally reverse efforts to improve air quality in communities surrounding the Port of Long Beach, according to a lawsuit filed last week by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Sierra Club.
According to the two groups, the new agreement gives ATA authority to oversee future updates to the Clean Truck Program at the Port of Long Beach even if the port is acting to protect public health and safety. The arrangement requires the port to receive ATA’s approval before making changes to the program or risk ATA filing a lawsuit.
“You can’t cut the public out of the conversation when you’re talking about the air they breathe and the health consequences they face,” says David Pettit, director of NRDC’s Southern California Clean Air Program. “This deal puts the wolf in charge of the henhouse — with a likely result of dirtier air for local communities. Industry cannot be allowed to dictate clean air efforts and rollback the port’s clean air advancements.”
The groups say the private agreement, entered into on Oct. 19, violates Long Beach Municipal Code and state law, which require public involvement and an environmental review. The lawsuit calls for a legally-required state environmental study of the agreement that includes public comment before it can move forward.
“The problems posed to blighted communities and the environment are far greater than the simple issue of tailpipe emissions that this settlement tries to cover,” says Tom Politeo, spokesperson for the Sierra Club. “The superficial agreement is far more about a subsidy that buys shiny new trucks for the industry than of the reforms needed to establish environmental justice. It is protectionist to a floundering status quo at the cost of suffering residents, workers and the environment.”
According to NRDC and the Sierra Club, the Long Beach Harbor Commission has denied repeated requests to examine potentially adverse health impacts under the new agreement as required under the California Environmental Quality Act and has entered into the agreement without public approval by the Long Beach City Council.
“This agreement repeatedly violates the public’s trust,” Pettit says. “Long Beach residents deserve transparency and honesty that the port can easily provide if it simply complies with the law and completes a basic environmental assessment on the agreement.”
