Environmental report moves BNSF facility ahead



BNSF announced Sept. 29 that an updated Draft Environmental Impact Report
 (DEIR) released by the Port of Los Angeles found that a proposed BNSF 
Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) facility “will result in an 
overall improvement in air quality, health risk, and traffic in both the
 immediate neighborhoods around the site and throughout the region.”



BNSF said it recently agreed to contribute up to $3 million to the joint 
Port of Los Angeles-Port of Long Beach Technology Advancement Program to 
further the development of zero-emission goods-movement technologies.


 It’s estimated that SCIG will eliminate more than 1.5 million truck trips 
from I-710 each year, providing local and regional air quality improvements 
and congestion relief. <p< “This report validates that building SCIG is the right choice for green
 growth in Los Angeles,” said Matthew K. Rose, Chairman, President ,and Chief Executive 
Officer of BNSF. “I’m proud of the hard work we’ve done over the past seven
 years to design the greenest intermodal rail facility in the country.”
”

BNSF has concluded a Project Labor Agreement worth $255 million with the 
Building and Construction Trades Council for the construction of SCIG.


 The facility will allow containers to be loaded onto railcars just four miles 
from the docks, rather than traveling 24 miles on local roads and I-710 to
 downtown rail facilities.