Mayor Bass and EPA Administrator Regan Visit Port of L.A. to Highlight Green Initiatives

At a recent visit to the Port of L.A., Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass hosted U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan, Congresswoman Nanette Barragán and Councilmember Tim McOsker. They discussed upcoming federal investments in zero-emission port equipment and infrastructure, air quality planning projects and enhanced efforts to protect the health of communities near U.S. ports.

The $3-billion Clean Ports program created under the Inflation Reduction Act, which – as a key element of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda – is delivering environmental benefits for Los Angeles, addressing the climate crisis and negative air pollution impacts, and creating jobs and opportunities for Los Angeles and communities across the country.

“We are here to highlight the critical investments that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is making across our nation and efforts to stand together as we confront climate change while investing in our economy,” said Mayor Bass. “Thanks to historic legislation passed by Congress, legislation that I was able to vote for, Los Angeles continues to lock arms with the Biden-Harris Administration to deliver federal funding to transform our infrastructure, including here at the Port of Los Angeles. These investments are not only keeping our economy strong and creating good-paying jobs but also will reduce emissions to combat climate change and improve air quality in our most vulnerable communities. Thank you, Administrator Regan, for all of your support in Los Angeles.”

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass speaks with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan at the Port of Los Angeles.

“It was a pleasure to be in Los Angeles to see firsthand how the Port of Los Angeles is driving our economy forward using clean, sustainable technologies and solutions,” said Regan. “I applaud Mayor Bass for her leadership to build a greener Los Angeles and Congresswoman Barragan for her tireless work to secure critical investments for cleaner ports across the country.”

“When I came to Congress, our communities made clear that addressing pollution from the Port of Los Angeles was a top priority,” said Rep. Barragán. “The $3 billion I secured in the Inflation Reduction Act for the EPA Clean Ports grant program is a historical down payment that will help port communities throughout the country tackle their pollution challenges. Nearly 39 million people in the United States live within three miles of a port, including my communities of Wilmington, West Long Beach, Harbor Gateway, San Pedro and Harbor City. High childhood asthma rates, elevated cancer risk and lower life expectancy are all too common in our communities and port communities across the country. In Congress, I worked with environmental justice groups, labor groups, the Port of Los Angeles and national environmental groups to introduce the Climate Smart Ports Act to create a grant program for the EPA, which would reduce pollution at our ports by replacing diesel-fueled equipment with human-operated, zero-emission technology.”

“While the Port of L.A. has been setting goals, designing programs and implementing initiatives to reduce the environmental impacts of operations, the neighboring communities which I represent know all too well that living in the shadow of the port has both significant economic benefits and serious environmental harms,” said Councilmember Tim McOsker. “As the busiest container port in North America, I’m glad to see that the federal government is investing to help leverage the development and deployment of zero-emission port equipment and infrastructure. Fully and timely meeting the Port’s sustainability goals will improve the quality of life in these communities. We must at the same time make sure that we work to retain the good jobs we have and retrain and up-skill our workers in the new equipment. We can have both a clean environment and a strong economy.”

“We are proud of the progress we’ve made reducing environmental impacts of port operations, yet it’s clear there is much more work ahead to reach our zero-emission objectives,” said Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka. “We greatly appreciate EPA Administrator Regan’s visit to get a firsthand look at some of the equipment we are testing, and we are excited about the opportunity to partner with the EPA as we chart a path to help decarbonize the maritime industry.”

Earlier, Mayor Karen Bass signed a historic Letter of Intent (LOI) with the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development of Finland Ville Tavio that will promote climate cooperation and economic development between the City of Los Angeles and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland for the first time in history. The agreement is the result of more than two years of collaboration on shared goals for carbon neutrality and the clean energy transition and will further propel Los Angeles to achieve 100% clean energy by 2035.

Within the past week, Mayor Bass announced that the City of Los Angeles captured five billion more gallons of stormwater in February 2024 than in February 2023 and secured federal funding to increase composting practices, reduce food waste and continue building a greener Los Angeles. In addition, Los Angeles is leading the way in electrifying our transportation system with the most electric vehicles and electric vehicle chargers of any metro area in the United States.

Under Mayor Bass, hundreds of millions of dollars have been secured through locking arms with state and federal partners as Los Angeles continues to urgently lead on climate. Building on the work of former Mayors Antonio Villaraigosa and Eric Garcetti, Mayor Bass has been able to deliver major investments as Los Angeles continues to lead the world on climate action.