The Los Angeles Harbor Commission on March 7 certified the final Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) intermodal railyard and approved a rail infrastructure project aimed at increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of moving containerized cargo through the Port of Los Angeles.

The near-dock rail container transfer facility represents a private investment of more than $500 million by Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway, which plans to develop and operate the intermodal rail yard on a 185-acre site approximately 4 miles north of the San Pedro Bay port complex.

Construction is slated to begin later this year on the intermodal rail facility, which is expected to handle approximately 570,800 TEUs initially, after it opens in 2016, and a maximum of 2.8 million TEUs by 2035.

According to the port, the project would reduce truck traffic, freeway congestion and air pollution by eliminating approximately 1.3 million truck trips annually along a 24-mile stretch of the Long Beach Freeway to BNSF’s Hobart Yard near downtown Los Angeles.

Economic benefits cited by the port include:

• Up to 1,500 direct and secondary jobs per year during construction that are expected to generate approximately $65.4 million in wages over the three-year construction period.
• A project labor agreement valued at more than $255 million governing wages and working conditions and providing job and apprentice opportunities during construction.
• Up to 1,096 direct and indirect long-term jobs by 2046 when SCIG is operating at full capacity and annual tax revenues of $14.6 million from all workers by 2046.
• Tax revenues of $31.4 million over the three-year construction period, with annual tax revenues from the operation reaching $14.6 million by 2046.
• BNSF would give qualified local residents priority for all new jobs at SCIG and fund a workforce training program in partnership with local institutions to help area residents obtain these jobs.

Construction and operation of the facility would be subject to stringent environmental controls. Key operational features include:

• SCIG would use only the cleanest available switching and long-haul locomotives and phase in the future generation of Tier 4 locomotives when the equipment becomes commercially available. 
• SCIG would deploy all electric-powered rail mounted gantry cranes and low-emissions yard equipment to handle cargo. 
• All trucks serving SCIG must meet or exceed 2007 federal on-road low-emission engine standards, and 90 percent of the drayage fleet must be LNG-fueled or meet equivalent emissions standards by 2026.
• Trucks must use designated routes to avoid residential neighborhoods and will be monitored by GPS units as a condition of all drayage contracts.
• BNSF would match port contributions of up to $3 million to advance the commercial development of zero emissions technologies that eliminate air pollution from port-related operations.
• SCIG would use low-glare lighting, intensive landscaping and automation to maximize productivity while minimizing operational impacts on neighboring communities.

The port would track and enforce environmental controls through a combination of project conditions, mitigation measures and lease requirements identified in the final EIR. The requirements will be incorporated into the terms of a 50-year lease. According to the port, conditions for the proposed project are consistent with regional, state and federal transportation and air quality plans and objectives. 

The harbor commission amended language in a project condition to require that BNSF shall implement new zero-emission technologies after the harbor commissions of both the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach determine it is technically, operationally and commercially feasible. The commission also amended an EIR mitigation measure to require BNSF to implement other emission reduction technology after it becomes technically, operationally and commercially feasible.