Port Of San Diego Weighs Including Environmental Justice In Master Plan

Speaker 1: 00:00 The public agency that manages the tide lands around San Diego Bay is considering adjusting the way it does business KPBS, environmental reporter. Eric Anderson says the port of San Diego's new master plan. A planning document for the next three decades could include a focus on environmental justice. Speaker 2: 00:22 When trucks rumble through Bayside San Diego neighborhoods, some see economic vitality that the economic payload comes with a cost, a cost that's frequently paid by neighborhoods like Barrio Logan Speaker 3: 00:35 Aria. Logan is in the top 5% of the most polluted, uh, areas by diesel pollution in the state of California, Speaker 2: 00:42 Diane tech Florian works with the environmental health coalition for 30 years. She's pushed Barrio Logan residents to lobby the port of San Diego to clean up its operations. Tack Borean says pollution. There pushes local asthma rates up, and that's not the only health impact. Speaker 3: 01:00 Some of the highest rates of, uh, COVID, uh, infections and mortality in Barrio, Logan, national city and other parts of the South Bay. So this is serious people's lives, depend on it. Speaker 2: 01:11 Local residents forced the port to listen as commissioners debated a concrete contract with Mitsubishi late last year, the neighborhood cried out about too much truck traffic linked to the project and the port shelled. The idea for now Speaker 4: 01:26 There's been a gradual transition towards collaboration. Speaker 2: 01:30 Jason Giffen says the agency is considering doing something that's rare. They're looking at being one of the first ports in California to add an environmental justice element to their master planning document. Given says that'll help Bayside community. Speaker 4: 01:46 Th they have more than their fair share of impacts. We look at this as an opportunity and we look at it as a way to guide the future together, to reduce impact specifically around some of the neighboring communities around the port. Speaker 2: 01:58 The change would force the port to do more than just consider economic, recreational or public access issues. When they consider projects or leases in the tide lands, the agency would have to consider how policies or projects impact nearby neighborhoods. Speaker 4: 02:14 We're at a point and inflection point where we can really set the balance for the next 30 years and really focus on improving air quality, environmental quality. And recently we've really seen an investment by the port and an acceleration into advancing clean water and clean air programs at activities that are Marine terminals, and also in the working waterfront. Speaker 2: 02:34 The port is already moving to electrify vehicles, Marine terminals, and there are efforts to move truck traffic around residential neighborhoods. There's also a push to increase access to transit, but the environmental health coalitions, longtime leader, eyes, the move with some skepticism. Speaker 3: 02:52 It's a good sentiment and it's an important goal, but what's really important is that they actually, um, materialize Speaker 5: 03:00 That in the actions that they take. Speaker 2: 03:03 It's the push to keep environmental justice from being just a paper change has allies on the board of port commissioners for chair, Michael [inaudible] says the port wants healthy thriving neighbors. He says, clean air is important to him. And he thinks electrification of port vehicles is an important strategy. Speaker 5: 03:21 Those who lead on this issue will get the funding, the grant funding, the support that needs to make these transitions. And I want to make sure the ports on the front side of that Speaker 2: 03:30 And the board of port commissioners, newest members, Sandy neuron, ho from national city wants to build on progress that is already happening Speaker 6: 03:38 Or is shifting. And, and I want to be, as my role is poor commissioner. I want to push for that. So we can be leading not just in our region, but in our state. And nationally, Speaker 2: 03:51 Toronto brings a history of community activism to the job. And she's excited that the port's master planning document will have that environmental justice element. Speaker 6: 04:01 This is going to be part of our operations, our lens, and how we look at things is through the environmental justice lens, Speaker 2: 04:07 Recovering from the financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic will grab a lot of attention at the port this year, but the agency could also keep Bayside neighbors in the discussion. If environmental justice becomes part of the business equation, Eric Anderson, KPBS news.