A timely followup to yesterday’s post on the region’s outdated Goods Movement Strategy affirming that such projects are opposed by local communities, for good reasons.
Media Advisory released today:
Residents of the “Diesel Death Zone,” named by doctors serving the area surrounding the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, sent a video tour [http://bit.ly/Is15bx] of their neighborhoods to Warren Buffett, CEO of the parent company of the BNSF railroad, calling on him to halt BNSF’s plan to build a new facility near their homes and schools, and instead locate it on the dock of the port.
[Excerpts from the letter to Warren Buffet] –
April 10, 2012
Re: Southern California International Gateway proposed railyard
Dear Mr. Buffett,
We live in the neighborhoods of West Long Beach and East Wilmington, California and are members of organizations that work in these areas that have come to be called the “diesel death zone” by doctors and other health professionals who serve our community. We’ve earned this designation because we live near the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles which together make up the largest port complex in the United States where ships, trucks and trains spew the cancer-and asthma-causing diesel fumes into the air that we and our children breathe every day.
As you may know, one of your companies, Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), is proposing to build a railyard in our community that will significantly increase harmful diesel air pollution. The purpose of this proposed railyard is to increase the amount of cargo hauled by BNSF railroad. However, we believe there must be a better solution, one that will create a net increase of jobs without adding additional pollution and increasing more negative impacts on our communities. We are asking for your help to achieve this solution.
The Port of Los Angeles will decide soon whether or not to allow the BNSF rail yard to be located in our neighborhoods that stretch from Wilmington to West Long Beach. The location will subject us to millions of additional diesel trucks and hundreds of additional diesel locomotives. BNSF wants to build this railyard within 500 to 1000 feet of multiple public schools and only 250 feet from a daycare center for homeless children. More than 30 locomotives a day would go in and out of the yard—and thousands of trucks a day. This project flies in the face of all the latest research findings from studies at the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and across the country, showing extremely harmful health effects from air pollution in areas adjacent to traffic pollution, including diesel emissions.
…There is an alternative to the proposed railyard: the Port should build more railyard capacity right at the Port—on its dock, rather than in our neighborhood—so that cargo containers could be moved directly from ships onto BNSF trains. More on-port rail would eliminate tens of thousands of truck trips and the accompanying pollution near our homes and schools. We would have as many new, good jobs as the polluting alternative, but without damaging the health of our families or imposing massive new health care costs on our community.
…[signed by]
Coalition for Clean Air
Coalition for a Safe Environment
Communities for a Better Environment
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
End Oil
Greater Long Beach Interfaith Community Organization
Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma
West Long Beach Association
Beatriz Reyes
Carmen Rivera
Elena Rodriguez
Evelyn Knight
John Cross
Sofia Carrillo
www.eycej.org