Recommendation to request that the City Council: (1) receive supporting documentation into the record and conduct a public hearing on two appeals of the Board of Harbor Commissioners' adoption of the Final Initial Study/Negative Declaration (IS/ND) for the World Oil Tank Installation Project (Project) filed pursuant to Long Beach Municipal Code Section 21.21.507 by Safe Fuel and Energy Resources California (SAFER CA) and Long Beach residents Nicholas Garcia, Sopha Sum, and Sophall Sum, and Earthjustice, Coalition for Clean Air, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, Communities for a Better Environment, Center for Biological Diversity, and Sierra Club - Angeles Chapter (collectively, "The Coalition"); and (2) adopt resolution denying the appeals and upholding the Board of Harbor Commissioners' adoption of the Final IS/ND for the Project.
All right. Let's go to item number 20 to continue hearing. You have failed our children. All of you. Item problem are not business like. Yes, we will mute public participation. Item 20 Report from Harbor Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record and conduct a public hearing on two appeals of the Board of Harbor Commissioners. Adoption of the final initial study. Negative Declaration of the World Oil Tank Installation Project filed by Safer, California and the Coalition and adopt a resolution denying the appeals and upholding the Board of Harbor Commissioners. Adoption of the final is and d for the project. If you would like to speak on this item, please raise your hand. All of it required a live stream of now. Yes, but anybody participating in this item, if you and each of you do solemnly state that the testimony you may give in the course now and pending before this body shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God. I do. I don't. Right. Thank you, Madam Claude. Mr. City Attorney, can you now walk walk through the council and the public through the process of this hearing? Yes. Vice Mayor, the first I believe there was a preliminary matter. My understanding is that world oil has decided to stipulate to prepare an environmental impact report for this project. So if we could hear from world oil to see if that is indeed the case. Paul Ryan is the representative from world over. Sue Gornik, the vice president of Environmental Health and Safety. I agree with that stipulation. Right. And so. Ms.. City Attorney So what do we need to do from here now that they've agreed to that? Yes. So in light of that stipulation that moots the appeals for the evening, which we're seeking to have an air prepared. And so if there is a motion from the city council to then direct this to go back to the port for further environmental review, consistent with that stipulation that world oil will prepare an environmental impact report for the project. So moved. It's been moved by Councilmember Aranda. The next in line was Councilman Austin. Is that a second? Yes. Okay. Yes. All right. Thank you. So it's been moved and seconded. Is there any public comment on the motion to accept this stipulation? We do have public comment at this time. There are 12 speakers queued up. Okay. And just to be clear to folks, what we're doing is they've agreed to effectively do what the appellant is requesting. And so if you're speaking to that, then now would be the queue up. But let's go ahead administer public comment. Nick Garcia. Your time begins now. You have 90 seconds. I'm. Mr. Garcia, please unmute yourself. Your 90 seconds starts now. Our next speaker is Robert Smith. Oh, I'm so sorry. I was then when I'm. You know. So start. Good evening, Vice Mayor. Councilman. My name is Nicolas Garcia. I am a member of the State for fuel and energy resources. California separate. California is a coalition of individuals and organizations with members, including myself, who live and work in and around this area. We advocate for sustainable development in Long Beach that minimizes environmental, environmental and public health impacts that provide community benefits, including investment and safe and skilled local construction workforce. Before this project can be improved, the city must address the project's impact on workers, public health and Environmental Environment and Environmental Impact Report, or incorrectly concluded that the project will have no significant environmental impacts. At this that is simply false to project a significant environmental impact on air quality health risk and greenhouse gas emissions, the Harbor Commission failed to disclose and mitigate. We believe the mitigation project impacts are critical to ensure good jobs, clean jobs and sustainable construction economy. I urge the Council to uphold this appeal and deny the project. Thank you. Our next speaker, Robert Smith. Your 90 seconds begins now. There we go. Good evening, Mr. Vice Mayor and members of the City Council of Long Beach. Thank you for hearing this issue. The painters in L.A. trades are happy that this is going to go back, that the oil has accepted the. e.R. Royal impact report. They're going to do one of the we we as the painters have concerns about safety in the area, etc. for our workers in our workers families in the area. And we also have concerns about skilled and trained workforce, and we look forward to moving forward. To the next step here. We just see where we're going to go at harbor commission that the thing is for us is that safer California and. The state building and construction trades have a voice here within this forum. Thank you. Our next speaker with the telephone number ending in 8019 year 90 seconds begins now. Please begin. Please hit star six. Oh, that's put him back on. You can begin. Our next speaker is Chris Chavez. Yes. Thank you and good evening. Councilmembers. My name is Chris Chavez. I'm the deputy policy director at Coalition Clean Air, one of the appellants for today and also a resident of Brinkley in the seventh District. I want to thank the council for making this motion for your attention to this issue over the past couple of months. It really encouraged a thorough air in this process, just to quickly highlight both this project and the community surrounding it are under the Protection of Assembly Bill 617, the Community Air Protection Program. They are both part of the Wellington Carson West, Long Beach, age 17, community, which signifies it's one of the most polluted, most vulnerable communities in the state of California. So that's important to keep in mind as we move forward through this process. I just want to encourage the council and the Harbor Commission to do your due diligence in protecting the folks who live in LA in these areas and really make sure that we're reducing emissions from this project. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Our next speaker is Dave Shuker. Good evening. Can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you. Thank you. Dave Fuqua speaking in his capacity as operations director of the Long Beach Alliance for Clean Energy. In principle, I support the motion and thank World Oil for agreeing to the stipulation, although I'd like some clarity on whether the stipulation is for an environmental impact review or just a report. I think what's needed is a project air that includes it. That includes all phases of the project, including planning, construction and operation. As we just heard from some of our union folks. Safety issues should be thoroughly examined. Moreover, we need to take seriously maybe whistling in the wilderness that we need to take seriously how a project like this fit into our existing program. I mean, just for the state, for instance, the downtown plan, climate plan, city climate plan. As somebody else mentioned, maybe 617 community, police specific communities. Obviously, part of the reason why there's the diesel definition. Right. And I also just, you know, trying to think of, you know, 20 or 100 years scale. I'd like to see a technical review of some of these. Thank you. Our next speaker is Julie May. This is truly a may from communities for a better environment. I'm a senior scientist. In our four communities in Wilmington and southeast Los Angeles. I just want to thank you. For. Performing the E.R.. It was both a no brainer and common sense that this was necessary. And it was. Also deeply. Documented in the record with the materials we presented about biofuels. Hydrogen sulfide, fire danger, earthquake hazards, water risks. Many other hazards that were significant in this heavily impacted community. We appreciate you doing the full air that was absolutely necessary. Thanks. Thank you. Our next speaker is Whitney. Levine. My name is Whitney Amaya. I'm a resident of West Palm Beach and a member of Eastern Communities for Environmental Justice. And yeah, I also just want to echo what's been shared. I'm glad that, you know, we're not moving forward with a negative declaration and that there is going to be a full year because honestly, a negative declaration for this project just did not make any sense because there's a lot of impacts that would come from the project. And I guess I don't think that it needs to be a reminder, but just in case, like my community and a lot of the other communities surrounding this area, we're already impacted by this so much. And so please take that into consideration as well, that it's not only the impacts from this project, but the impacts from everything else as well. And I think that's one thing that I wanted to say and thinking of this year is also taking into consideration like accidents, because it's not a question of whether it will happen, but when it's going to happen. You know, just from my experience of living next to refineries pretty much all my life and oil and gas infrastructure, it's super scary when things like this happen. And it's also frustrating whenever there's any accidents because there's never any real answers for community members. I think the thing that we tend to hear is, you know, there was this crazy accident, but there aren't any threats or any impacts for our health. And if there are impacts from these facilities during regular operations, how are we supposed to believe that there aren't any impacts? Thank you. Our next speaker is Sylvia. Hi. Good evening, Sylvia Arradondo with Communities for a Better Environment. And it's good to hear that this is going to go back to the air. I'm also a community member in Wilmington and have represented to the community in the harbor area for and through my work in different capacities and also as steering committee member for the one with Ben Carson with long with input from seven of. And I just want to thank you for sending us back to the air and as other speakers have mentioned of having a project of this scale move forward without an air process is too damaging. And it's also it does bring about a lot of concern, as you all know, living surrounded by industry or at least seen industry in our communities really has a severe impact on community health. And so both these are one thing that I'm always constantly talking about with folks because the the health harms. That are related from the off season. I've experienced many of, you know, friends who passed away from the different chemicals. And we just need to continue to take a stand for community. And so seeing, you know, a 40 hour process really helps us and the community know what is already going on and and continue to put in the documentation. Thank you. Our next speaker is actually Hernandez. Hello. My name is Ashley Hernandez and I grew up in Wilmington and I'm also with an organizer with Communities for a Better Environment, and we're with our youth program in the local Wilmington Harbor area. I also want to echo what a lot of peers here are saying, and thank you for really including FDR, into this process. I think it's obviously a bare minimum for front line communities to get these processes to be carried out. And so I just really wanted to emphasize the need for frontline communities that are dealing with heavy cumulative impacts, including refineries, oil drilling and heavy diesel traffic to be considered in the in the in the many impacts that we're going to deal with, including, obviously, this proposal. And so I just really want to echo the sentiments of folks here and really wanting to have a full air be carried out in the next couple of months, it seems. Well, I know it was, but thank you so much. Our next speaker is Darrell Golden. Good evening, everyone. My name is Sarah Golden. I'm a member of West Long Beach Association and the 617 Committee and a resident of West Long Beach. And I just have a couple of questions. The lady from World Oil, did she stipulate to the entire request of the appeal, but just the Arab portion? Well, what was the stipulation for police? Hey, there. We're we're not it's not a Q&A, but we're a promotion before we go. Okay, I buy one of those. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Kalani Lee. 90 seconds begins now. Good evening, everyone. My name is Kay. Honestly, I'm both a community member and a lawyer. I'm here to speak on behalf of myself, a Harbor Gateway resident, and my cousin and her son, who are Long Beach residents. I am grateful, like many of the public commenters here today, that this project is going to be sent back for a full hour. Given the nature of this project, it's clear that. One was required. The fact that. It's adding 2500 barrel crude oil storage tanks and freeing up almost 190,000 barrels of petroleum storage has at least the potential to cause significant environmental impacts related to air, water, fire prevention, resources, earthquake hazards and more. And this project clearly. Exceeds their firemen. To prove that there's a potential to cause a significant. Impact on a community. And. I'm just very grateful that it's going to undergo the required environmental review under CSA. Thank you. Our next speaker is Allison Ham. Your 90 seconds begins now. Hi. Good evening. My name is Allison Holm. I'm an attorney with Communities for a Better Environment. I'd just like to thank you for moving. Forward with us. For the full year of the World Oil Project. SEQUA is a lifeline for frontline line communities that rely on seek review to understand the potentially significant impacts of the proposed projects and to provide comments and proof proposed projects. It goes without saying community should not be sacrificed for the sake of economic development. So thank you for prioritizing community health and safety for this project. Appreciate it. Thank you. Our next speaker is Marine Premiere. Marine Premiere. All right. I apologize. I was having trouble meeting myself. Hi. My name is Marnie Premiere. I'm the executive director for Future Ports, based in Long Beach. We are an organization dedicated to both growing and greening ports of Long Beach in Los Angeles, as well as Wyoming and San Diego. And. And building a sustainable supply chain. We are very supportive of World Oil's efforts to work with the council and with the community and labor partners to move this project forward. It's a much needed facility for recycling fuel in the port terminal area. We applaud World Oil for voluntarily seeking air on this project and working with the labor and community partners to move. The project forward through the air process. And thank you very much, the council this evening for your substitute motion to allow this project to move forward. And we certainly do wish that any negative declaration had been upheld, and we were very supportive of the project. But we're glad to see that it will continue through the process and we'll be committed to working with world oil and the community partners to make that happen. Thank you very much. Thank you. Our next speaker is Anna Christianson. Hello? Hello. Well, please begin. Sorry you asked me to unmute, but I'm not interested in that. Oh. One moment, please. Anna Christiansen. Hello. Please begin. Okay. Wait. I'm on the phone because the camera was. The computer wasn't working. I'm sorry. I'm going to try it. Does the computer work now? Can you hear me? We can hear you. Okay. I'm not going to talk on the phone. All right. Sorry. Yeah, this process got a little weird on the computer. Okay, so along with everybody else, I'm grateful. I'm not particularly grateful to world oil. I'm certainly not grateful to city staff who recommended that the project be approved without any air. I'm grateful to all the community activists, all the organizations who wrote and researched and did the hard work of contacting community members and and doing the science that is necessary. Grassroots science and outreach that should have been done by the city staff to understand just how. Bad. This project is how much we do not need it. There is no. I'm glad. I'm grateful to have an air. Everybody will go. Go through it. But there is no way in hell that this that expanding fossil fuel infrastructure in production, whether it's in the port or in the low cerritos wetlands, is or offshore or offshore island is any benefit to this community. It's time to walk away from fossil fuels. Thank you very much. Thank you. Our next speaker is Ella Gonzales. You know, today meant a lot. And it just said, I, you know, basically, yeah, I'm not here to applaud World Oil Company. This is a private corporation that is pillaging the planet. There was, um, there was a town that caught on fire this, this year on New Year's Day in Colorado. I mean, Colorado usually expects snow, not fire. And this is just the beginning of the rest of our lives. But this is a company that made millions of dollars causing, you know, cancer to people, children, asthma, planet burning up. So Long Beach needs to start phasing out oil. It needs a plan to not add any more infrastructure. And air should be the expectation and is. The law. For any type. Of development. Whatsoever. You're building a building. You're building a parking lot. You're building you're drilling for oil. You're building an oil tanker. You need an air. So, you know, good for them for complying with the law because there was a hearing, because there was a lawsuit filed by Earthjustice, an environmental nonprofit. But this isn't a cop out for the city council. You are expected to deny this project in. The name of climate. Change. If you are not a climate denier, if you accept the science, you accept the reality of the warming planet that you live on. So, you know, good, good. For those who did write the city council, you guys got lucky this time. But, you know, we're we're paying attention to these projects. Thank you. Thank you. What the individual with the telephone number 8019. Your time begins now. I just wanted to ask if this is the item number 26. So by the. Thank you. That concludes public comment for this item. Excuse me. I don't. Remember you. Mr. Clarke. With a few more people. It's the appellant who would like to speak. Please begin. Yep. Good evening, council members. My name is Carla Fetterman on behalf of appellant Save for California. We support the motion to remand the project in order to prepare an environmental impact report to address and mitigate the project's significant environmental impacts. Safer California filed this appeal to address the board's failure to prepare an air for the project pursuant to Secure to disclose and mitigate the project's significant, unmitigated air quality impacts, public health impacts and climate change impacts associated with construction and operation that were not disclosed or mitigated by the negative declaration. Our appeal presented substantial evidence supporting a fair argument that the project may result in potentially significant impacts related to volatile. Organic compounds. And particulate matter and greenhouse gas emissions. As such, we support the motion to remand the project to preparing air. Thank you. Right. Thank you. So that satisfies the public comment when they get back behind the rail. I raised my hands. Councilmember Durango. I'm sorry, Vice Mayor. We still have one more volunteer. I would like to speak. Do we have one more comment on. Hang on. Mr. Clark, go ahead and handle the rest of it. Let us know we have a green light. Carter Garage. Your time begins now. Thank you. My name is Cody Rhodes. I'm an attorney from Earthjustice representing the coalition that appealed this project. I'm glad to hear that world oil will be preparing in the air for the project. And I'd like to thank the city council members for considering the community concerns on this issue. I hope that this air will address the concerns we raised in our appeal filing and the public comments of the project. Specifically, the air need to strongly investigate this project's cumulative impact for context. Over 1000 petroleum storage tanks are already permitted in the South Air Basin and world oil already had seven oil storage tanks at their Long Beach terminal with over half a million barrels of capacity. So what doesn't allow us to act as if these tanks don't exist by evaluating the project in a vacuum? So in the air, these cumulative impacts must be thoroughly investigated to give the public and decisionmakers a complete picture of the project's real impacts. Unfortunately, recent studies from the South Coast have shown that the emissions from storage tanks like these are systematically underestimated. So benzene, which causes cancer, for example, was found to be underestimated by 34 times. So consideration of these findings is something that really must be incorporated in the upcoming air for this project. We're also concerned about disaster risk for the project in the Air must look into alternatives that will mitigate the risk to residents and ecosystems from disasters, especially given the governmental influence of climate change. Thank you very much. That concludes public comment. All right. Thank you. All right. They're going back behind the room. Councilmember doing a thank you, vice mayor. And I want to thank all the presenters who spoke this evening about the project, the motion that we put on the floor. I just want to make sure that I have an understanding of where we're at. And my understanding is that world oil has agreed to simply prepare an environmental impact report with a world oil tank installation project. And I'd like to hear from world oil that my understanding is correct. So it's the city attorney. Could you could you clarify? I think I think we're past that part of me, Rita. The city attorney. Can we can you just clarify a lot of discussion between then and now? Yes, that is the stipulation. Councilmember. Thank you very much for that clarification. So in light of the other fact, I moved to dismiss the appeals as moot and send this project back to the Port of Long Beach for further environmental review and preparation of an environmental impact report as stipulated by world oil. I want to thank all of the oil for taking this initiative and ensuring that all potential environmental impacts are exploring this project. I appreciate their willingness to take the lead on this. It also allows for additional details and environmental review to be gathered during the process, as are more important for community input than negative declarations. And I look forward to the process in the community. I also want to thank the Point Loma staff for their work on the project and look forward to seeing this full environmental impact review come back to City Council in the near future. And then I have a second thought that that would be my statement. That would be my motion. Thank you. Great. Thank you, gentlemen. Most. Helpful advice. Thank you. Vice Mayor, I want to echo Councilman Romney's comments and. Thank. World Oil for voluntarily withdrawing your project this evening and moving forward with a full air. It's clear to me from. The public comment that we heard that this next phase for you should definitely include. A more robust community. Outreach component. I think I know for sure that they're based on my understanding. Of the project and some of the comments that we heard that they maybe a little bit of of a lack of outreach in. Terms of what the project entails and the impacts. And I hope that that happens. And also that from some of the comments we heard earlier, that world oil work very actively on. Obtaining some. Agreement on a skilled and trained workforce as we move forward on this project. So thank you very much and have a great night. Thank you, Councilwoman Allen. Thank you. Vice Mayor I've spoken with the port staff. I've spoken with the applicant, I've spoken with the applicant, and I've heard all sides. And I just want to thank World Oil for voluntarily moving forward with the air. You listen to the community and the climate advocate and you are receptive to all of our concerns. So I look forward to being part of the Yarra process and seeing the additional information and the review that comes out, as well as seeing the increased community engagement that will be a part of the process. So thank you for being a good partner and keeping impacted communities at the center of our decision making. Thank you, Councilwoman Ciro. Thank you, Vice Mayor. I want to add to the comments my colleagues made about wanting to think many of the community members and the coalition that's made up of the coalition and providing their concern and ensuring that information is shared with us. In addition to thanking staff at the port, as well as oil for providing various information and coming to the conclusion that the best process was to move forward with an air. So thank you. All right. Thank you. Say no further council comment. I'll just add my support for what's what's in front of us. You know, two weeks ago, I think no one anticipated that there would be this much anxiety and community angst about the project. And I want to thank all the folks who have reached out to my office community members, labor partners, world oil representatives to try to get to the place where I think is the right decision, which is to move forward with a full, more robust process. So I'm happy to support this tonight. Let's go ahead and call our roll call vote we. District one. I'm Mr. Vice Mayor. Just for a while. What I did on second emotion so far. My apologies. I'm just going to go ahead and speak to the company. Well, I think everything has already been said. I agree with all of the comments that have been stated by my colleagues. I appreciate the robust input and the passion from the community, but also the the coalition that actually came together, I think was one that I don't think I've ever witnessed, the man who lost ten years on the council. And so with that said, I think it's we've landed in a good place. We should move forward, but also in the future when it comes to robust community input. I would just like to also maybe admonish and. Recommend to our port commissioners that they do a little bit more work with the community so that we can get these issues dealt with before they get to the city council level. Thank you. Thank you. Let's proceed to the roll call. Vote for. District one. Hi. District two. I District three. I. District four. I. District five. I. District six. I. District seven. I. District eight. Hi. District nine. All right. Motion is carried.