MORENO VALLEY – (INT) - Southland air quality officials have reached a settlement of two lawsuits to address air pollution from trucks servicing the World Logistics Center in Moreno Valley.

“As a result of working with the SCAQMD over the past several years, the developers of the World Logistics Center have already pledged to implement several air quality mitigation measures,” said Wayne Nastri, acting executive officer of the South Coast Air Quality Management District. “The additional mitigation afforded by this settlement will further protect the health of residents living along the heavily traveled 60 freeway corridor.”

Under the agreement, developer Highland Fairview will pay an additional air quality improvement fee of $.64 cents per square foot for each building in the World Logistics Center as it is constructed over the next 15 years. If the warehouse complex – one of the largest in the nation – is developed as planned, mitigation funds will amount to $26 million by 2030, Nastri said.

Although the mitigation funds paid to SCAQMD may be used for any purpose to improve air quality in the region, SCAQMD officials plan to work with local residents and community groups to develop mitigation efforts focused on reducing emissions in the areas affected by the warehouse project.

For example, individual or fleet truck owners could be offered a financial incentive to purchase a near-zero or zero-emission truck model. Incentives of this nature, through state programs such as Carl Moyer and Prop. 1B, have been an effective tool for more than 18 years in speeding the transition of heavy-duty trucks and other equipment to cleaner models.

Expenditure of mitigation funds from the settlement must be reviewed and approved by SCAQMD’s Governing Board.

Story Date: October 23, 2016