A conservation group is asking a California court to block the local authorization of a crude oil storage project at the Port of Long Beach.
Members of the Long Beach City Council gave the green light this fall for World Oil Terminals to build two 25,000-barrel storage tanks at its existing terminal, despite concerns that the project would emit harmful pollutants like hydrogen sulfide, benzene and other volatile organic compounds in an area already facing heavy industrial pollution.
On Monday, Communities for a Better Environment filed suit in Superior Court in Los Angeles County to bar the oil tanks project from moving forward for failing to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act, the state’s version of the National Environmental Policy Act.
“The Port of Long Beach brands itself as a ‘green port,’ and recently withdrew funding for fireworks events citing environmental concerns, yet it greenlit this harmful project,” said Oscar Espino-Padron, an attorney at Earthjustice, in a statement. The environmental organization is representing Communities for a Better Environment, a nonprofit organization.
