An environmental impact review will be conducted on a new project to build two new oil storage tanks near Long Beach.
World Oil, which holds an oil storage unit at the port and wants to expand it, agreed to undergo the assessment. This request was made by two groups, one environmental activist and one local resident.
Two new storage tanks would be built near the Port of Long Beach. They could hold 25,000 barrels each and 50,000 barrels total. The new storage tanks will be added to the Port’s World Oils storage facility.
While council members commended World Oil for completing an environmental impact report without any City Council action, others encouraged them to stay in touch with residents.
“It’s clear from the public comment that the next phase for you should include a more robust community outreach component,” Councilwoman Suzie Price said at the meeting.
On Tuesday, the City Council was scheduled to hear appeals by those two environmental groups. They argued that a project of this scale requires an environmental impact report. This raises concerns about potential impacts on air quality, ecology, and overall environmental health in the region.
“It was both a no-brainer and common sense that this was necessary,” said Julia May, a senior scientist at Communities for a Better Environment, at the meeting.
And Kartik Raj, a lawyer for Earthjustice, an environmental group, recently told this newsgroup: Over its lifetime, it will emit over 200,000 pounds of toxic air pollutants.”
Raj stated that even though these new storage tanks won’t be processing oil, they can still emit chemicals like benzene which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may cause cancer.
The Harbor Commission approved the project in October without an environmental impact study. This was because it had completed a preliminary study and made a negative declaration, which would not have caused significant environmental damage.
The Harbor Department stated that it did not require an environmental impact study for the project in a staff document. The appeal was denied. The staff report said: The studies cited as evidence by The Coalition of the underestimation Volatile Organic Compound (Emissions) are just thatstudies. They have not been approved for use in determining environmental impacts under CEQA.
Other concerns include the possibility of hazardous sludge being created by the project. However, the Harbor Department claims that sludge would not pose a risk if it was routinely transported and disposed.
Another reason is that the project isn’t prepared for a natural catastrophe, an issue which the Harbor Department also stated it was prepared for. Fears of such a disaster were rekindled by last week’s eruption of a volcano in the sea off Tonga, which set off tsunami advisories along the California coast.
However, for residents already affected by poor air, such as those in West Long Beach and Wilmington, a report on the environmental impact is what the city and World Oil can do to ensure residents are fully protected, some stated.
“I want to encourage the Council and Harbor Commission to give due diligence to those living in these areas,” said Chris Chavez, a Long Beach resident and deputy director of the Coalition For Clean Air, “and really make sure that were reducing emissions from this project.”