Port of LA

Wilmington, Carson, West Long Beach

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Overview

The community of Wilmington, West Long Beach, and Carson is located in the greater Los Angeles area in the SCAQMD. The community is impacted by a variety of sources including freight, freeway traffic, port and rail operations, oil and gas production, and refineries. The community has a high cumulative air pollution exposure burden, a significant number of sensitive receptors, and includes census tracts that have been designated as disadvantaged communities. The community has been a long-standing focus of monitoring studies including a CARB community study in 2003, and the Harbor Communities Monitoring Study in 2007, as well as the SCAQMD MATES program. These programs provide the necessary foundation for the development of a community emissions reduction program, and additional air monitoring will provide more localized information within the community and help track progress on implementing the emissions reduction program.

The Wilmington, West Long Beach, and Carson community represents an area of 48 square miles with a population of approximately 261,000. Refineries, seaport activities, 9 rail yards, warehouses, and 4 major freeways surround the community. The Port of Long Beach is located adjacent to the communities of Wilmington and West Long Beach. Highways 110, 710, and 91 and Interstate 405 run through the community along with the Alameda Corridor, which connects the port to the rail yard near downtown Los Angeles. The community is also impacted by neighborhood oil drilling. The sensitive receptors in the community include 83 schools, 132 licensed daycare facilities, and 15 hospitals. The community has high rates of poverty and unemployment, and in some portions of the community, there are schools in close proximity to air pollution sources.

Community Boundary

Image displaying Wilmington, Carson, West Long Beach's AB 617 community boundaries

Wilmington, Carson, West Long Beach's AB 617 community boundary files

Community Air Monitoring

In 2018, the Community was nominated by the District and selected by CARB as a monitoring community. The District published the AB 617 Community Air Monitoring Plan For the Wilmington, Carson, West Long Beach Community in April 2019.

The Community Air Monitoring Plan identifies areas of interest for AB 617 monitoring such as stationary and mobile sources, monitoring site locations, sampling schedules, and types of equipment and strategies. The plan was designed to obtain detailed air pollution levels through the Community, determine areas in the community of highest risk, quantify sources of air pollution within the community, and to position the Community to develop emissions reduction strategies and monitor the effectiveness of those strategies.

CARB and the District have historically implemented air monitoring which includes regulatory monitoring in Los Angeles County. The AB 617 community air monitoring plan is specifically designed with the community steering committee input to measure and collect localized and elevated air pollution levels data. The District considered health statistics, air quality concerns from residents in multiple communities, as well as screening tools that combine environmental, health, and socio-economic information to calculate community-wide risk factors in the planning and implementation of community air monitoring. Community-level expertise through steering committee meetings and input from a broad range of stakeholders supported the District's development of this plan.

The collection of comprehensive air quality data is essential to develop emissions reduction plans and strategies. The monitoring data is being provided to CARB and is available on AQView where monitoring data from other AB 617 community air monitoring plans are also included.

Community Emissions Reduction Program

The Community Emissions Reduction Plan (CERP) for Wilmington, West Long Beach, Carsonoutlines the actions and commitments by the Community Steering Committee (CSC) and the South Coast AQMD to reduce air pollution in the Wilmington, Carson, West Long Beach community. An essential piece of the AB 617 program is the partnership and collaboration with the community to ensure that the CERP addresses the community’s air quality priorities. At the center of these efforts is the CSC that was established, in part, to participate in the development and implementation of these plans. The CSC is a diverse group of people who live, work, own businesses, and/or attend school within the community. Local land use agencies and public health agencies that serve the community are also part of the CSC. Through the CERP development process, the CSC members provided guidance, insight, and community wisdom, all of which were important ingredients for the CERP. The CERP is a critical part of implementing Assembly Bill 617 (AB 617), which is a California law that addresses the disproportionate impacts of air pollution in environmental justice communities. The AB 617 program aims to invest new resources and conduct focused actions in these communities to improve air quality as a step toward environmental equity.

The Wilmington, Carson, West Long Beach community identified the following air quality priority areas for addressing through this plan:

  • Refineries
  • Ports
  • Neighborhood Truck Traffic
  • Oil Drilling and Production
  • Railyards
  • Schools and Homes

Community Engagement

Image of the Wilmington, West Long Beach, Carson Community Steering Committee

Community engagement is a key part of the AB 617 program. Air districts are responsible for convening a community steering committee using an open and transparent nomination process. Community steering committees create new, and foster existing, local partnerships which drive the AB 617 program. In this advisory role, community steering committees oversee the development and implementation of the program such as in community identification, community air monitoring, and community emissions reduction programs. The steering committee aims to identify metrics, track progress, solicit, and share information with the Wilmington, West Long Beach, Carson community. The current Community Steering Committee was selected representing a diverse range of community viewpoints. This broad range of stakeholders also forms a collaborative AB 617 Technical Advisory Group, which provides input to South Coast AQMD staff on technical details related to source attribution, air monitoring and other technical analysis needed to develop air monitoring plans and Community Emissions Reduction Plans for AB 617 implementation.

The current Community Steering Committee charter describes the Wilmington, West Long Beach, Carson Community Steering Committee membership process, how meetings are conducted, and how information is made available to its members and the public.

 

Annual Implementation Progress

Annual progress reports are completed by the District. Qualitative and quantitative progress assessments as well as status updates from interim milestones identified by the CARB Governing Board are available in the annual progress report and accompanying metric workbooks. A detailed update for each strategy can also be found here as it is made available.

Additional Resources