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I love seeing the cruise ships coming and going from the window of
my condo in downtown San Diego a block away from the B Street
terminal. That said, 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 like mine, 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 LA's and should be treated
differently. 

1. I am 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 hour. Please do not lower standards and
allow more than two hours to connect to shore power. 

3. San Diego's Port Authority allows cruise ships to re-engage
their engines 1/2 hour before leaving the berth. I want that to
continue. A full hour 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 before Jan
1, 2021.

Please find enclosed a photograph taken from the balcony off my
master bedroom just now. The trees in the foreground are planted
right in front of my building--that is not a zoomed-in photo! Two
Celebrity ships have been camping out here full-time since the
coronavirus lockdown; neither is shore power-capable and they have
been making the air in my home smell like exhaust and giving me
headaches. I beg you to help with the air quality situation for me
and my many thousands of neighbors in downtown San Diego!

Sincerely,
Kent Pryor