Pollution Regulator Announces Lawsuit over MoVal Shipping Depot

Southern California’s pollution watchdog announced Thursday that it will join legal actions to stop a 2,600-acre shipping depot in Moreno Valley that opponents contend will severely degrade air quality and worsen traffic congestion.

“This massive warehouse complex will generate emissions of smog-forming nitrogen oxides at levels similar to a major refinery or power plant, primarily due to the (thousands of) truck trips occurring at the facility every day,” said South Coast Air Quality Management District Director Barry Wallerstein.

“The mitigations approved by the Moreno Valley City Council will not adequately protect residents from the potentially harmful health effects of these pollutants,” he said.

The AQMD is the third entity to signal its intent to sue over the World Logistics Center, which is slated to occupy space east of Redlands Boulevard, west of Gilman Springs Road and south of the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway.

Earlier this week, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors and the independent Riverside County Transportation Commission each voted in favor of filing civil actions to sideline the project until Moreno Valley offers solutions to the negative impacts listed in the environmental impact report approved by the council.

City officials have not responded to requests for comment all week.

According to the AQMD, county board and RCTC, the mitigation measures that have been put forward are unacceptable. County Executive Office spokesman Ray Smith said the board on Tuesday left open the possibility of dropping its suit, provided the city comes forward with identifiable ways to curb the significant “traffic impacts” associated with the project.

County officials argue that nearly 69,000 vehicle trips per day -- including 14,000 trucks coming and going on a 24-hour basis -- risk significant travel delays on the 60 and Gilman Springs Road, along with a higher volume of pollutants in an area already suffering from poor air quality.

The AQMD said the logistics center is among the largest land developments ever approved in its jurisdiction -- exceeding in acreage 32 individual cities monitored by the regulator.

“This is not a question of choosing between jobs and clean air,” Wallerstein said. “We can have successful projects and clean air throughout the region. It has been done many times before, and Moreno Valley needs to ensure that it will happen for its residents.”

Both the county and AQMD officials said multiple attempts were made to engage Moreno Valley’s leaders before resorting to civil action, but there was no response.

In the face of community opposition and nearly a week of public hearings, the city council voted last month to greenlight the 40.6 million- square-foot logistics center, which Mayor Jesse Molina described as a “game- changer of proportional magnitude -- not only for the city, but the entire region.”

The developer, Highland Fairview, hailed the estimated $2.5 billion in annual economic activity the mega-warehouse will generate, while opponents denounced the metric-tons of pollution and traffic interruptions they said would inevitably ensue.

According to supporters, the project would create roughly 13,000 construction jobs and lead to permanent employment for up to 20,000 workers.

--City News Service, photo via Shutterstock