During the city of National City’s Jan.18 city council meeting, Port of San Diego Commissioner Sandy Naranjo announced plans to reduce air pollution in National City and surrounding communities.
“Last week, the Port board voted to phase out use of an old cargo crane at the 10th Avenue marine terminal that is the single greatest source of air pollution there,” Naranjo said, to be replaced by the first all-electric battery-powered crane system in North America.
At the same time the board voted to purchase a 20-year solar power agreement for a microgrid being installed at the terminal that is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 360 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, Naranjo said, the equivalent of a passenger car traveling one million miles.
“Air emissions know no boundary and travel far and wide, including to our community,” Naranjo said, and eliminating harmful emissions is essential to reducing climate change for the planet.
The solar agreement will save the port $3.8 million over the 20-year term, Naranjo said, which can then be spent on National City and other communities of need within the port’s jurisdiction.
“We also had a robust discussion on the heavy-duty, zero-emission truck plan which is part of the Maritime Clean Air Strategy,” Naranjo said, which outlines how diesel-powered trucks that transfer freight to and from port cargo terminals will be replaced by electric trucks by 2030 among other initiatives.
Likely, she said, the port will also apply and qualify for funding through California State’s Blueprint, a 2022-23 state budget proposal that includes funds earmarked for improving environmental justice outcomes.
“Environmental justice funding is important to National City and other communities of color that were harmed by construction of freeways that split our neighborhoods and increased the incidents of asthma, cancer and other health problems,” Naranjo said.
With millions of dollars at stake, Naranjo said, she has recommended the port adopt a Clean Air Strategy Implementation Committee to track plans and programs while they are being developed, as well as a dashboard “so the public can understand how these clean air and environmental justice efforts are progressing and how the money is being spent.”
The commissioner also said she wants to ensure contracts for environmental justice programs are awarded to companies owned by women and minorities, although she did not specify what that would entail or how the port can meet that goal.
Back in December, Naranjo said, a draft report was released on how much impact the port has on cancer risks in National City and other portside communities. Based on 2019 data, the study looked at emissions from ocean-going ships, train and rail operations, and conveyors like tugs, ferries and freight trucks.
“While there is disagreement on some of the study findings, one outcome was clear: the closer homes are to pollution sources, the higher the cancer risk,” Naranjo said.
Currently, reports like the 2019-20 study are written for scientists, Naranjo said, and she has proposed that future reports come with a “Reader’s Digest” form with information clearly written and explained for the general public in both English and Spanish.
“The point of the health assessment should be to get the information out to the community and to get feedback from the community… so the port can fulfill its stated goal for the maritime clean air strategy which is ‘health equity for all’,” Naranjo said.
In February, Naranjo said, the port will be discussing use of the Maritime Industrial Impact Fund, partially funded by revenue from the 10th Avenue terminal in National City.
“Just for folks to understand what that means, it’s not even 1% of the revenue, it’s half of 1%,” Naranjo said, yet it was a challenge to secure that funding. It is important to “give credit where it is due,” Naranjo said, citing City Council Member Ron Morrison as instrumental in advocating for that funding.
“The port… finally acknowledged they had a responsibility and that’s something we’ve been seeking for decades,” Morrison said.
