Damon Nagami's Blog: Environmental Justice

Metro Approves South L.A. Rail Line, Still Directs Disproportionate Funds to Highways

2009-12-17T02:49:36Z

Last Thursday, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) approved a new light rail line in a move that could strengthen the transit network of a region that has historically under-invested in public transportation.

The Crenshaw/LAX Line would start at the Crenshaw Station on the Exposition Line and then head south on Crenshaw Boulevard -- past the predominantly African American neighborhoods of Baldwin Hills, Leimert Park, and Hyde Park -- and continue south to a stop about a mile from Los Angeles International Airport.

“This project is long overdue and will provide congestion relief, improve air quality and serve as an economic catalyst,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said after the vote.

Building the line should cost between $1.3 and $1.7 billion and be paid for using revenues from Measure R, the half-cent countywide sales tax increase passed in 2008 to pay for transportation projects. Metro expects to have the line in operation sometime between 2016 and 2018.

Supervisor Ridley-Thomas, who is also a member of Metro’s Board of Directors, has been among the most visible supporters of the project, which would pass through his district. Since the county first began discussing a transit project in the corridor, he has pushed for a light rail line rather than a rapid bus lane, and on Thursday he convinced the Metro board to consider adding further safety measures.

Light rail critics say these projects siphon money from cheaper bus operations that serve more riders. But NRDC applauds investments in both bus and light rail, which are considerable improvements over costly and unsustainable highway projects, and we commend Supervisor Ridley-Thomas for his leadership in expanding public transit options for this historically underserved region of the city.

Although Metro operates a vast transit system, with 191 bus routes spread across a service area of 1,433 square miles and with more than 90 miles of light rail running from Pasadena to Long Beach, this system pales in comparison to the vast highway network. Five hundred and twenty-seven miles of freeway crisscross Los Angeles County, and officials have invested handsomely in them. Merely widening the 405 Freeway from the 10 to the 101 -- a distance of less than ten miles -- will carry a $1 billion budget. All told, almost $8 billion worth of highway projects are planned for Los Angeles County in the next six years.

The focus on highways comes from the traditional priorities of local officials and also from the decisions of state and federal leaders. Now, at a time when more commuters have turned to public transportation nationally, California has eliminated its public transportation funding and forced local agencies to cut services and increase fares.

With Measure R expected to generate $40 billion in the next 30 years, NRDC will be working hard to ensure that the revenue is spent responsibly, on transit improvements that will reduce auto use and encourage sustainable development.

For a look at the proposed Crenshaw/LAX line, click here.

Protecting Southern Californians From In-Community Oil Drilling

2009-08-05T23:52:54Z

Many Californians already know about offshore oil drilling. The controversial issue was in the spotlight during this summer's tense negotiations over California's budget, when the Assembly thankfully nixed a backroom deal to allow drilling off the Santa Barbara coast for the first time in four decades.

What many Californians don't know, however, is that onshore oil drilling is alive and well - and is happening right now in our own backyards.

In Southern California, ground zero for what's known as urban or "in-community" oil drilling is a two-square-mile expanse of sweeping canyons and ridgelines known as the Baldwin Hills. Although oil companies have been drilling there for decades, up until very recently no health or safety regulations were ever put in place to govern drilling operations despite two neighborhood evacuations in 2006 due to toxic gas leaks. In the meantime, the surrounding communities have grown tremendously - to the point where over a million people now live within a couple miles of the oil fields.

This is alarming because, as my colleague Amy Mall has blogged about frequently, oil drilling operations use and produce toxic chemicals known to harm people's health. These chemicals also pollute the air in the form of volatile organic compounds (VOC), greenhouse gases, and particulate matter.

Predictably, local government's failure to regulate the oil fields led to the disaster in 2006, when noxious gas emissions forced hundreds of people to evacuate their homes. The outcry from the community prompted the County of Los Angeles to adopt emergency measures and eventually propose a set of health and safety regulations known as a community standards district, or CSD.

Unfortunately, the oil company, PXP - the same company behind the current offshore drilling debacle in Santa Barbara - dragged its feet during the environmental review process and forced the County to do a sloppy rush job. As a result, the County ended up approving an inadequate set of regulations that allowed a vast expansion of drilling activities without enough oversight or environmental or safety protections. NRDC and other groups immediately filed suit.

After nine months of hard-fought litigation, our efforts are finally starting to pay off. On Tuesday, the County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion - authored by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas - to initiate a study on how the CSD can be strengthened, and to propose public hearings on potential amendments. And earlier today, the Los Angeles Superior Court denied PXP's motion to dismiss our lawsuit and three other similar lawsuits brought by community groups.

These are two huge wins for the community, but we're not out of the woods yet. What we need now is action. The County needs to follow through and upgrade the CSD's health and safety protections. PXP needs to be a good corporate neighbor and work with the community instead of alienating it. Let's capitalize on the momentum we've started to gain this week. After enduring years of toxic fumes, these communities deserve a breath of fresh air.

Tackling "Nature Deficit Disorder" in South L.A.

2009-04-21T00:07:32Z

On Saturday, California State Parks celebrated the grand opening of the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, a 65-acre park and trail system in the heart of South Los Angeles. Dignitaries and community activists raved about the state-of-the-art visitor center and the stunning 360-degree views of the L.A. basin. But Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas stole the show when he professed to suffering - like many Angelenos do - from "nature deficit disorder."

He was mostly joking, of course, but L.A.'s serious lack of parkland is no laughing matter. Urban Los Angeles is one of the most park-poor areas in the nation, with fewer acres of parkland per resident than any other major city. Without adequate green space, these often lower-income communities of color don't receive the many benefits that come with parks, like a healthier local environment, access to low-cost recreation, and the chance to experience and connect with nature up close.

The Baldwin Hills present a golden opportunity to provide the communities of South L.A. with the parkland they so desperately need. Many Angelenos only know the Baldwin Hills by the endless oil derricks and tanks that dot the hills along La Cienega on the way to LAX. But the community has had visions of a park in the Baldwin Hills for decades. In fact, the Baldwin Hills Conservancy has adopted a Park Master Plan that envisions a world-class, two-square-mile regional park - one that would rival New York City's Central Park and Orange County's Great Park in terms of sheer size and scale.

The unveiling of the Scenic Overlook on Saturday is a terrific achievement and shows that we're slowly making progress toward that goal. But we've still only protected a small fraction of the Baldwin Hills as parkland. There's a lot more work that needs to be done before South L.A. residents can claim victory over "nature deficit disorder," and NRDC will be there every step of the way.