Port of Long Beach’s green terminal project gets green light

http://www.eyefortransport.com/content/port-long-beach%E2%80%99s-green-terminal-project-gets-green-light

The Long Beach Board of Harbour Commissioners has unanimously given the go ahead to a US$750 million renovation project to transform two aging Port of Long Beach shipping terminals into one of the most environmentally friendly terminals in the world.
With a significant addition of railroad tracks and built-in environmental technology, the new terminal will double the cargo-moving capacity of the two existing facilities while halving air pollution from operations there.
Construction on the project, which will take ten years to complete, could begin by end-2009.
The Harbour Commission certified the 1,500-page environmental impact report/ study yesterday, and approved the permits and other documents to allow construction to begin.
Construction will be phased in, allowing cargo operations to continue at the Long Beach Container Terminal and California United Terminals.
The project will create a single 345 acre facility by merging the existing terminals and adding 51 acres of land by filling in slips, and will also add 65,000 feet of railroad track, enabling almost one-third of all the cargo at Middle Harbour to be moved by train.
Furthermore, the new green terminal will require that:
All container cargo vessels will plug into shore-side electricity and turn off their main and auxiliary engines.
All vessels will adhere to the Port's Vessel Speed Reduction Program, which will cut their fuel consumption and reduce their exhaust emissions from forty miles offshore.
All vessels will use clean-burning, low-sulphur fuels in their main and auxiliary engines.
All cargo-handling equipment at the terminal will be the cleanest available.
All trucks calling at the terminal will meet the toughest EPA emission standards.
Rail yard operations will use alternative fuels and the cleanest equipment available.