Ports to look at water pollution guidelines
Art Marroquin
Long Beach Press-Telegram
08/11/2009
First, the goal was to reduce emissions from trucks, ships and equipment used at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Now, the focus is on cleaning the foul waters lapping at the harbor's shoreline.
The Los Angeles and Long Beach harbor commissions are poised today to consider a series of guidelines aimed at controlling sources of water and sediment pollution at the nation's busiest port complex.
The proposed Water Resource Action Plan, or WRAP, calls for improving the maintenance of fueling and cargo handling areas, along with expanding stormwater, dust and litter control programs at the twin ports.
The plan also calls for examining upstream sources of pollution that are washed from storm drains, the Dominguez Watershed and the Los Angeles River into San Pedro Bay.
"When it comes to water quality, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are in the challenging position of needing to address the pollutants that enter our harbor from upstream sources as well as from port operations," said Cindy Miscikowski, president of the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners.
"That's why it's so important that we take this action to create a solid plan to guide us to even better water quality."
Officials at both ports designed the plan with input from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, environmental groups and the maritime industry.
While no specific benchmarks are included in the plan, the collaborative effort comes as regulatory agencies prepare to impose tougher guidelines aimed at reducing the amounts of fuel, metals, pesticides, waste and other contaminants dumped into the water.
"We've worked closely with the ports and local partners to identify key actions that will reduce water pollution and protect San Pedro Bay," said Laura Yoshii, the EPA's acting regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest. "The EPA looks forward to continuing these efforts as the ports implement their plans to protect public health and the environment in Southern California."
WRAP comes nearly three years after the twin ports adopted the Clean Air Action Plan, which aims to significantly reduce diesel emissions from port activity. With some of those measures already under way, including the Clean Trucks Program, attention has now shifted to cleaning the port's water.
Both ports have spent several decades trying to improve water quality by dredging channels, removing contaminated sediment and monitoring pollution levels, but problems remain with inflows of polluted storm water, vessel discharges and terminal operations.
"We managed to improve the water quality separately, but this is noteworthy in that this will be the first time that the ports have come together for a clean water strategy for the San Pedro Bay," said John Pope, a Port of Long Beach spokesman.
