Court Deals Setback to Port of L.A. Rail Yard Near Poor Neighborhoods

"A California judge ruled Wednesday that the Port of Los Angeles and a national railroad company failed to adequately assess the environmental impacts of a $500-million freight yard they want to build next to low-income, mostly minority neighborhoods.

Barry Goode, sitting in Contra Costa County Superior Court, held that the port and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. violated the California Environmental Quality Act in their analysis of the Southern California International Gateway project, which has been planned for more than a decade.

The ruling will likely stall an important goods movement project for the region, but could benefit residents of west Long Beach who live, work and go to school next to the project site, an area already hard hit by pollution from port operations."

Dan Weikel reports for the Los Angeles Times March 30, 2016.