Port of Long Beach helps battle pollution

The investment, which is expected to be disbursed over the next 12 to 15 years, adds to the $17.4m the Port of Long Beach has given to community groups since 2009. Funding now totals almost $65m.

Previous funding from the Community Mitigation Grants Program helped pay for projects that included air-filtration systems at schools, renewable energy projects, energy efficiency upgrades and asthma outreach health programs.

The board’s president, Lori Ann Guzmán, said: “As commissioners, we live in Long Beach, and so we understand that for the port to do well, we must do good. Being the Green Port is in our DNA and our record as being leaders on the environmental front while being good neighbours is unparalleled.

“The proposed community mitigation program is the latest example of our longstanding and long-term commitment to the environment and to the Port of Long Beach.”

Before the port could consider establishing a new mitigation-related program, state law required the completion of a study identifying the port’s cumulative impacts to air, traffic, noise and water. The study, which was released in April, valued the impacts at $46.4m.

At the end of this year, the port will host a public workshop to help develop grant guidelines for allocating funds to the variety of community health, facility improvement and community infrastructure projects identified in the study.

Funding is expected to be awarded at the beginning of 2017.