A California court on Tuesday tossed out the environmental review and city approvals for a planned crude oil storage project in the Port of Long Beach.
The decision is a win for Communities for a Better Environment, which sued in 2024 after the Long Beach City Council certified the environmental analysis for World Oil Terminals’ plan to build two 25,000-barrel storage tanks at its Ribost Terminal.
Under the state court order, Long Beach cannot implement the project until it has completed a new environmental impact report (EIR) under the California Environmental Quality Act, the state’s version of the National Environmental Policy Act.
The court “concludes that the City committed a prejudicial abuse of discretion by certifying the Final Environmental Impact Report and approving the Project,” said Judge Maurice Leiter of the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County, in a ruling Tuesday.