Port Sued Again For Inadequate China Shipping Air Quality Mitigations

SAN PEDRO — The 20-year battle for clean air at the China Shipping Terminal is headed back to court, as the original China Shipping plaintiffs and allies have filed suit to void the City Council’s Aug. 12 vote to certify the Port of Los Angeles’ plan to make up for 11 promised mitigation measures that it never implemented. 

“The Port of L.A. broke the law by abandoning its clean air commitments in the original EIR and, without justification, adopting measures that are far less protective,” said Melissa Lin Perrella, Senior Director of Environmental Justice at Natural Resources Defense Council.

“The Port hid its actions from the public for nearly a decade, resulting in communities shouldering more and more pollution. The Port is not above the law. Our lawsuit seeks to hold the Port accountable.”  

“The Port has shamelessly violated environmental protections it committed to more than a decade ago,” said Dr. John G. Miller, President of the San Pedro and Peninsula Homeowners Coalition. “Residents of San Pedro, Wilmington, and Long Beach face higher cancer risks, asthma rates, cardiovascular mortality rates, and a higher risk of death from COVID-19 in the diesel death zone that surrounds the Port. We refuse to keep suffering with the consequences of pollution from the Port. Today’s lawsuit is yet another chapter in our fight for justice.”   

“The Port legally promised it would adopt health-protective measures to minimize toxic air pollution from ships, trucks, and equipment at the China Shipping terminal,” said Janet Schaaf-Gunter of the San Pedro Peninsula Homeowners United, one of the three original activists responsible for initiating the original lawsuit.  “Instead, Port authorities slithered around behind closed doors, abandoning many of its original environmental commitments, which resulted in unfathomable health consequences for residents and dockworkers living and working in this diesel death zone around the Port. We demand better air for our families and our communities.”

A separate suit was also filed by the South Coast Air Quality Management District. “We are extremely disappointed that the Port did not  at least require clean fuel or electric trucks,“ said Wayne Nastri, South Coast AQMD Executive Officer.