The mayors of Los Angeles and Long Beach Friday voiced their support for a regional regulatory authority’s efforts to develop a plan aimed at reducing emissions at the twin ports of San Pedro Bay.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District, an air pollution agency overseeing Southern California, is in the process of creating preliminary concepts to enhance progress toward clean port charging and fueling infrastructure. They’ve organized working groups to identify gaps, opportunities and ways to best move forward to meet their goals.
“For nearly 20 years, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles have worked with all stakeholders to reduce emissions from port operations and we remain committed to continuing to decrease emissions to clean the air and demonstrate that by collaborating with our partners and our communities, our ports can continue to grow and grow green,” according to a joint statement from Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
“We support the development of a zero-emissions infrastructure plan. Now, under the context of a new administration, we must work together regionally to continue this progress — both in protecting the environment and supporting our industries — to move our cities, ports and communities forward,” the statement said.
The mayors highlighted a partnership between the cities, South Coast AQMD and ports to secure hundreds of millions of state and federal funding dollars to reach their zero-emission goals, as well as to support the workforce development.
According to a presentation from South Coast AQMD, these groups have identified three key priorities: energy transition, planning and developing of charging and fueling infrastructure, and bolstering coordination between levels of government and agencies.
Additionally, South Coast AQMD identified some challenges related to infrastructure planning at the port. For example, there is no recent survey for certain categories such as locomotives.
In terms of public grants, there were gaps observed as awards supported shovel-ready projects, but a lack of opportunity for longer-term planning efforts.
South Coast AQMD is expected to continue engaging with stakeholders such as ports and surrounding communities. The agency will present an update on its ongoing efforts to its governing board in January 2025, followed by an anticipated public hearing for its plans in June.