{"id":268055,"date":"2026-04-14T22:52:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T22:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/268055\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T22:52:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T22:52:12","slug":"oakland-airport-plans-a-big-expansion-environmental-groups-want-to-hit-pause","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/268055\/","title":{"rendered":"Oakland Airport Plans a Big Expansion. Environmental Groups Want to Hit Pause"},"content":{"rendered":"

East Oakland, a predominantly Black and Latino community, \u201calready bears the brunt of toxic land uses and other environmental stressors,\u201d the lawsuits say.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe health of community members living near Oakland Airport is already severely compromised by existing airport operations, nearby transportation corridors and industrial activities,\u201d Communities for a Better Environment argued in its legal complaint.<\/p>\n

East Oakland residents who live closest to the airport are in the 100th percentile of asthma rates in the state, according to the suit. Some of the area\u2019s neighborhoods are also ranked among the most burdened by multiple sources of pollution in California<\/a>, according to a mapping tool created by the California Environmental Protection Agency.<\/p>\n

Jacobson said neighborhoods adjacent to the airport have the highest rate of mortality due to heart attacks and the highest rate of pediatric emergency room visits for asthma exacerbations in Alameda County.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Port of Oakland on March 6, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento\/KQED)<\/p>\n

The harmful health effects are largely due to the ultrafine particles, or small bits of carbon, that are released into the atmosphere when airplane fuel combusts, he said. The particles are associated with increased risk of heart attack, atherosclerotic disease and lung disease.<\/p>\n

Jacobson also said airplane exhaust releases benzene, a carcinogen that causes lymphoma and leukemia.<\/p>\n

While neighboring Alameda has developed a noise abatement policy with the Port of Oakland, Gustavo Gutierrez, an East Oakland organizer with Communities for a Better Environment, said similar settlements weren\u2019t offered to Oakland neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

Alameda\u2019s deal, he said, reroutes planes over East Oakland neighborhoods, since they are more industrial areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when you look at our map and when you look at our city and you look at our neighborhoods, you see that all the warehouses are right next to homes,\u201d he told KQED.<\/p>\n

\"\"Trucks leave the Port of Oakland on Sept. 28, 2023. (Martin do Nascimento\/KQED)<\/p>\n

Throughout the environmental review process, Gutierrez said the nonprofit and a coalition of activists opposed to the expansion pushed for a health impact report, but the port refused to conduct one, in part leading to the suit.<\/p>\n

He said the nonprofit also pursued the suit because the environmental impact review that the port completed \u201cgrossly understates what the scope of the project is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Port of Oakland spokesperson Justin Berton said the port\u2019s \u201coutreach and community engagement efforts with residents exceeded requirements\u201d during the environmental impact review process.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Port met with several groups over several years to discuss noise abatement, air quality, and other environmental resources of concern that was in the EIR,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit from Communities for a Better Environment argues that the report provides an incomplete description of the modernization project, including the scope of its expansion of activity, and relies on outdated airport activity data from before the COVID-19 pandemic, which reflects higher rates of travel.<\/p>\n

\"\"Oakland International Airport on April 14, 2020. (Beth LaBerge\/KQED)<\/p>\n

Gutierrez said increasing air travel would also increase the number of freight trucks in the area, since the Oakland airport is a hub for FedEx.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Berton said the environmental impact review certified by the port\u2019s Board of Commissioners followed a \u201ccomprehensive review by staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Final [Environmental Impact Report] was based on substantial evidence and expert analysis, and the Port looks forward to defending the EIR and the project in public hearings,\u201d he said via email.<\/p>\n

Judge Michael Markman could rule as soon as Tuesday on whether to require a further review or allow the project to proceed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"East Oakland, a predominantly Black and Latino community, \u201calready bears the brunt of toxic land uses and other…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268056,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-268055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}