Design of Pier S Marine Terminal per the Green Port Policy

The Port of Long Beach (POLB) and its tenants, the terminal operators and shipping lines, have made a commitment to protect the environment through their development goals and daily operations. The POLB has adopted a Green Port Policy that is based on specific environmental principals, goals for realizing these principals, and metrics to measure progress towards these goals. The Policy advocates new aggressive environmental programs along with incentives and legislative proposals to promote implementation of the programs. The planning, analysis, design, and construction of marine terminals under the Green Port Policy creates challenges that require innovative solutions for the project to meet the environmental goals, to be designed effectively, to be constructed efficiently, and will allow the terminal to operate competitively. Based on an ongoing environmental assessment that results in an approved project and certified environmental impact report, the 160-acre Pier S Marine Terminal will be one of the first POLB container terminals to be designed under the Green Port Policy. The proposed terminal includes the following components: dredging and realignment of the channel dike; 3,200 linear feet (975.4 meters) of wharf construction to accommodate up to 12 container cranes; container yard and associated structures; 13 terminal buildings; gate facilities; and an on-dock intermodal rail yard with static capacity for two unit trains. To address the goals of the Green Port Policy, this container terminal has been designed to include the following elements: (1) Beneficial reuse of the dredged sediments; (2) Shore side infrastructure for electric dredges; (3) Shore-to-ship power for the container ships; (4) Capacity for rail mounted gantry cranes for enhanced cargo handling modernization; (5) Efficient gate systems along with effective truck circulation to reduce truck idling; (6) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver and Gold certification for terminal buildings; (7) Best Management Practices to improve storm water quality; (8) Implementation of sustainable practices for development and operation; (9) Alternative technologies and fuels for yard equipment that will reduce the net diesel emission from terminal operation. (10) Construction equipment to comply with the EPA requirements for lower diesel emissions; and, (11) Compliance with the Port's Clean Air Action Plan for trucks moving containers to and from the terminal. Lastly, Pier S is a former Brownfield site that had been previously remediated to facilitate site development. Remediation included onsite cement-stabilization of oilfield wastes in designated cells within raised fill areas at locations that considered future terminal infrastructure. As the terminal design evolved to comply with the Green Port Policy, the design accommodated the cell locations.