Comment Log Display

Please allow me to suggest a careful read of the attached articles
from the NYT on 3/28/2020 and from the HuffPost on 3/31/2020 and
then, in the light of this, please explain to the residents in the
Colombia district of San Diego why the Port of San Diego still
allows the deadly pollution from cruise ships, ferry boats and
excursion boats to go on. 

I am a resident of downtown San Diego, along with 40,000 other
people. The cruise ships dock extremely close to our high-density
residential neighborhood and the pollution caused when the ships
are not connected to shore power is toxic. The ships contaminate
the whole downtown, but are especially dangerous for residents in
the half-mile radius of the terminal, including the high-density
populations of Columbia, Marina and Little Italy Districts, with
high-rise condominiums, apartment complexes and hotels. Over 1400
hotel rooms are across the street from the ships and many residents
are literally one block from the cruise ship terminal, a distance
of about 800 ft. 

I don't believe CARB is considering the proximity of the ships to
the residential population in its rule making. A one size fits all
scenario for rule-making does not work since the health and welfare
of thousands of people is being put at risk. The San Diego cruise
ship terminal is very different than Los Angeles/Long Beach's and
should be treated differently. 

1. We are pleased that ships in fleets will be required to connect
to shore power Jan 1, 2021. I want ALL cruise ships to meet this
requirement, no exceptions, at the San Diego cruise ship terminal.
Cruise lines already had years to convert their ships. If they want
to dock in San Diego they should not pollute the neighborhood and
people's lungs and homes. 

2. Maintain the current timeframe standards, or make them tougher,
to connect to shore power. One hour after the ship docks to berth
is acceptable. Changing this connection time to 2 hours after Ready
to Work, in our situation, is unacceptable. Vessels and the Port
need to make sure that the connections are maintained and labor is
available to connect in one (1) hour. Please do not lower standards
by allowing two(2) hours or more to connect to shore power. After
all, when ships come in at speeds of 7-12 kn and with long prior
notification of & permission from the Port of San Diego

3. San Diego's Port Authority allows cruise ships to re-start their
engines 1/2 hour before leaving the berth. We want that to
continue. A one hour timeframe to pollute is not necessary. Every
hour the cruise ships are allowed to pollute downtown puts our
health at increased risk.

4. In order for the Port of San Diego to meet the connection
requirements already proposed, it needs money to build the
additional infrastructure to provide a second connection to shore
power. Please provide the resources to make this happen for the
Port's readiness by Jan 1, 2021.

Sincerely,
Fred Hottinger
Vice President Sapphire Tower Home Owner Association