"Without the trust of the people, politics degenerates into
mere spectacle and democracy declines, leaving demagoguery and cynicism to fill
the void." Those words were uttered by
Governor Jerry Brown in his inaugural address on January 3rd. And while his comments were probably
primarily directed at the legislative process in Sacramento, they would also
have application in Los Angeles, where a career politician is trying to force
her will on the Port of Los Angeles, to the detriment of a project that is
critical to the future success of the Port.
The issue in Los Angeles involves LA City Councilwoman
Janice Hahn, who is trying to force the Port of Los Angeles to accept a
proposal from Gambol Industries for construction of a ship building and repair
facility at the expense and detriment of existing tenants at the Port. The controversy centers around the disposal
of dredge material at the site of two former dry dock slips in the location
Gambol wants for its proposed shipyard.
The disposal site was permitted as part of a previously approved Main
Channel Deepening Project – a US Army Corps of Engineers project (to deepen the
main ship channel to 53 feet) which is nearing its final years of
completion. The dredging project is
vital to the Port’s ability to handle the latest generation of container ships
and to fend off competition of East and Gulf Coast ports, which will escalate with
the expansion of the Panama Canal in 2014.
After a five year process, the dredging project – including
where the dredge material will be disposed of – has received all of the proper
permits from various state and federal agencies. But Hahn, in support of Gambol
Industries, wants to dispose of the dredge spoils in a manner that has not been
reviewed or approved by any governmental agency. Incredibly, in an OpEd piece in 2010, Hahn
called the Gambol shipyard proposal a "…no-brainer" at the same time admitting
that "While there are some concerns about making it work logistically, we can
overcome those concerns." She apparently
didn’t check with the state and federal permitting agencies. The California
Coastal Commission informed the Port with regard to the Hahn-endorsed Gambol dredge
disposal proposal, that "…the [Gambol] proposed vertical wall system is
unproven…would pose a risk to water quality and marine habitat…no additional
Commission staff time and effort should be spent on reviewing [the proposal]…and
that…the approved Channel Deepening Project should move forward."
In addition, the US Army Corps of Engineers has repeatedly
warned the Port for months that the proposed alternative promoted by Hahn would
halt the current dredging operations and require additional environmental
review that would take at least 2-3 years.
The result? No dredging, no
accommodation of larger container ships, delays in disposal and fill of
projects at several other terminals – and a time horizon for final completion
of an already-permitted project that goes beyond the opening of an expanded
Panama Canal in 2014.
Last year the Daily Breeze reported that Hahn had received
campaign contributions from Gambol employees and associates. The story forced
Hahn to remove herself as being a mediator in the discussions between Gambol
and the Port. But Janice Hahn persists –
deciding recently to seek a political solution to this saga by sponsoring a
motion at the LA City Council for the Council to "…assert jurisdiction over the
action taken by the Board of Harbor Commissioners…" which declined to designate
the dredge disposal site as a new shipyard for Gambol. This tawdry and unseemly effort follows dubious
criticism of port staff analysis of the shipyard proposal and the casual
discounting of warnings from state and federal government permitting agencies regarding
the technical feasibility of the proposal and warnings of significant delays to
the approved dredging project – which when taken together borders on political malpractice. If Jerry Brown wanted an example of "demagoguery
and cynicism" he need look no further than the political machinations of a
member of the LA City Council.