Input for Clean Air Action Plan to begin July 19

SAN PEDRO — A draft update of the Clean Air Action Plan, or CAAP, by the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles will be released to the general public July 19, launching an estimated four-month process to revisit air quality reduction and freight movement strategies. The public comment period will continue for two months before harbor commissioners at both ports begin deliberating the 2017 draft update. Public comments can be submitted to both port districts through Sept. 18 (5 p.m.); a public workshop will be held Aug. 30 for in-person submissions. Harbor Commissions for both ports are expected to jointly vote on the final update in November. The CAAP 2017 update, according to Port of Los Angeles staff, seeks to develop “new strategies to further reduce air emissions and support the statewide vision for more sustainable freight movement.” Both ports began implementing air quality improvement policies in 2006, when the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan was adopted. The plans mission was to reduce pollution sourced from everyday harbor infrastructure (cargo-handling equipment, ships, trains, trucks, etc.). Diesel particulate matter at both ports were reduced to 85 percent, nitrogen oxides were cut in half and 97 percent of sulfur oxides were eliminated since 2005,...