We're demanding the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) finally regulate dangerously increasing pollution from California ports!

Call in to publicly comment at the SCAQMD board meeting and demand pollution-free ports. Sample script below!

When: Friday, 4 February, 2022 @ 9:00am PST

How to join the board meeting:

1. Join the Zoom Meeting
   1. Join from a computer or phone: https://scaqmd.zoom.us/j/93128605044
   2. Meeting ID: 931 2860 5044 (applies to all)
   3. Teleconference Dial In +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782
   4. One tap mobile +16699006833,,93128605044# or +12532158782,,93128605044#
2. Audience will be allowed to provide public comment through Zoom connection or telephone.
3. Queue up for public comment:
   1. Raise your hand on Zoom
   2. Or, on a phone use: *9 to raise your hand and *6 to mute/unmute
4. Use the talking points below when your turn is called! Comments may be limited to 1.5 or 3 minutes, depending on time.
5. View Friday's meeting agenda here.

Tweet @ regional air board members!

Why is this meeting important?

Port pollution is surging, yet ports and regulators are failing to protect public health.

The Port of Los Angeles’ and Port of Long Beach’s proposed plans to voluntarily reduce pollution are dangerously weak and lack enforcement. It’s time for the South Coast AQMD to draft mandatory pollution rules.

We’re asking policymakers to develop “a strong, mandatory indirect source rule,” in order to reduce pollution coming from the ports and protect public health.

SAMPLE SCRIPT (aim for 1.5-3 minutes maximum)

1. Introduce yourself:

Hello, thank you for the opportunity to comment. My name is ____, and I am a member of ____/work as ____. I’m calling today to urge you to stand up for our communities and support the development of a strong indirect source rule and give AQMD the tools it requires to meet the federal air quality standards and protect millions of California residents from increased pollution from the ports.

[Insert your personal story, experience, personal health impacts, or use any of the following information for inspiration!]

2. Address the problem: (choose 2-3 points that relate to you)

• Our communities have been suffering from bad air quality for decades, and it has been exacerbated by the supply chain crisis that is expected to be the new normal.

• In August, AQMD board gave the ports 6 months to come up with an agreeable memorandum of understanding (MOU). Proposals from both ports of LA and Long Beach are woefully inadequate to address worsening air quality issues at the ports and protect our health.

• The Ports’ offers would restrict the Air District from engaging in rule-making should contingency measures become necessary and make the Air District solely responsible for any shortfall in emissions reductions not met through the weak voluntary measures they propose. What they’re proposing is a raw deal for the public with little enforcement.

• Southern California air quality has been getting worse in recent years, and the region will miss a key 2023 smog reduction deadline, putting it at risk of federal Clean Air Act sanctions, which could mean losing billions in federal funding. Too many communities, from Wilmington to San Bernardino, are forced to live with the consequences of that failure: unhealthy and life-shortening smog and soot that is bad for everyone but worst for the most vulnerable, including children whose lungs are still developing.

• Ports have shown again and again they cannot regulate air pollution at the ports by themselves.In fact, these ports have done very little since 2018 and even now the Port of Los Angeles is trying to use the proposed MOU as a way to achieve 2017 CAAP goals they had completely ignored until now.

3. Address the solution: (choose the closing language you most prefer)

We have been waiting for years for a strong rule that mandates ports to make urgently needed and long-overdue investments to reduce toxic emissions. The ports have failed us and an indirect source rule (ISR) seems to be the last and only resort available for meaningful reduction in pollution. We urge you to stand up for our communities by going forward with a strong ISR.

It is unconscionable and irresponsible to disregard this opportunity to address port pollution while our communities are suffering from the issue that has been years in the making. Frontline communities like ours need better, stronger rules now and an indirect source rule (ISR) is the best path forward. We have waited for far too long, and we can’t afford to wait any longer.

Other statistics & background:

The increase in cargo movement at the Ports last year led to a significant increase in emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from container vessels at anchorage, resulting in 20 premature deaths in the South Coast Air Basin

In 2018, the South Coast AQMD pivoted to a voluntary approach based on a misguided notion that the ports would work hard to clean up the significant amount of pollution they impose on breathers in the region. This change has been disastrous for our communities.

As a result of the pollution coming from the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, communities near these ports have a life expectancy 8 years lower than the LA county average and suffer from breathing related health issues such as asthma, which in turn exacerbated the impact of COVID 19.