CCAEJ Condemns SCAQMD’s Vote to Delay Port ISR

CCAEJ Condemns SCAQMD’s Vote to Delay Port ISR in favor of continuing to pursue a Weak Industry-Driven Agreement, negotiated in bad faith.

Inland Empire, CA — The Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ) strongly condemns yesterday’s vote by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Board to delay the long-awaited Port Indirect Source Rule. Today’s vote to pause forward movement on the Port ISR is a step backwards and risks repeating the same failed pattern of previous MOU attempts which only served to delay and weaken rule development.

This decision is yet another betrayal of the frontline communities who have been waiting years for decisive action to address the severe pollution from Southern California’s ports. The ISR, already weakened after years of industry influence, would have been one of the few enforceable tools to reduce toxic diesel emissions from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Instead, the Board has chosen to pursue a non-binding MOU that will lack the enforceable safeguards needed to protect public health.

“This is a clear pattern from the SCAQMD Board — trading away public health for industry concessions,” said DeForest Barnette, Program Manager of CCAEJ. “The communities most impacted by port pollution cannot afford more delays, yet the Board has once again chosen to put corporate profits above the lives and health of the people they are meant to protect.”

Port pollution contributes heavily to our region having among the worst air quality in the nation, with diesel exhaust linked to asthma, cancer, and heart disease. The decision to delay the ISR will prolong these harms, disproportionately affecting low-income communities and communities of color living near the ports and along freight corridors. SCAQMD seems to be under the false impression that our air quality is so good that we space to delay action while we fret over petty details, meanwhile residents are dying every single day as a direct result of the pollution from the ports.

CCAEJ calls on SCAQMD to end its pattern of putting the demands of special interests chasing profits above their duty to protect the health needs of the community as a whole. Instead, it is imperative that the SCAQMD immediately adopt a strong, enforceable Ports ISR. Communities have waited long enough — our health and our lives are not bargaining chips for secretive  negotiations behind closed doors.