Overview
The Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) is a planned $500+ million investment by BNSF to build a new, state-of-the-art intermodal rail yard facility located within four miles of the San Pedro Bay ports, resulting in improvement of both traffic congestion and air quality in the region. BNSF committed to making SCIG the greenest intermodal facility in the U.S., by investing more than $130 million in green technology, including electric cranes, ultra-low emissions switching locomotives and liquefied natural gas (LNG) or equivalent yard equipment.
Project Benefits
SCIG would reduce diesel particulate matter and improve health risk compared to the heavy industrial operations currently at the site, providing a great health benefit to neighboring communities, At the same time, it would support the competitiveness of the ports, eliminate 1.3 million annual truck trips on the I-710 to rail yards near downtown Los Angeles more than 24 miles away, create tens of thousands of jobs and increase use of the Alameda Corridor.
Current Status
In 2018, the California Court of Appeal concluded that the EIR’s analysis of the Hobart rail yard, greenhouse gas emissions, noise, and traffic complied with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The SCIG EIR’s air quality analysis of ambient air concentrations was the one issue on which the Court of Appeal determined additional analysis was required. In April 2018, the California Supreme Court denied a petition to review the Court of Appeal’s January 2018 decision.
On May 19, 2021, the Port of Los Angeles released the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report (RDEIR) for the project. This RDEIR discloses additional details about certain air quality impacts as required by the California Court of Appeal, so that the Port of Los Angeles can consider re-approval of the project that would allow it to proceed.
SCIG has already undergone extensive review and evaluation under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) since 2005. A Final EIR was certified by the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners on March 7, 2013 and upheld by the Los Angeles City Council on May 8, 2013.
The public comment and review period for the Revised Draft EIR is from May 19 to August 25, 2021. During this time, the Port will accept written comments via email at [email protected]. Comments sent via email should include “SCIG Project” in the subject line.