People Post is a space for opinion pieces, letters to the editor and guest submissions from members of the Long Beach community. The following is an op-ed submitted by Taylor Thomas (East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice) and Bahram Fazeli (Communities for a Better Environment), research and policy experts working to protect Long Beach and coastal communities throughout the state against the harmful impacts of pollution and contamination, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Long Beach Post.

If you live in a community like Long Beach, San Pedro or Wilmington, you know California’s coast isn’t all sand and palm trees. It is also a hub of commercial and industrial activity, where big ships offload huge containers to trucks and trains; power plants and scrap metal recyclers loom alongside public beaches; active oil wells emit toxic fumes; noise and vibrations invade nearby parks, schools, and homes; and some of the West Coast’s biggest refineries are harming the health of fence-line communities.

You may not know, however, who decides which plants get built or which beaches are protected. In many cases, it’s the State Lands Commission, a three-member panel that consists of the lieutenant governor, the state controller, and the governor’s director of finance. The commission oversees “public trust lands” that include some of the state’s prime waterfront real estate, as well as coastal waters, bays, and rivers. Its job is to balance “development” with the need to protect public access and prevent pollution.

While the commission is charged with protecting the “common heritage” of all the people of California, the rights of Native American Tribes, communities of color and low-income communities have often been overlooked. As a result, these communities have been dislocated from their lands, and subjected to adverse pollution from ports, refineries, oil terminals, and other heavy industry. Some California Native Tribes are landless today and unable to rebury ancestors whose graves were disturbed by state-sanctioned development.

Now, the State Lands Commission has an opportunity to adopt an Environmental Justice Policy that will help to right these historic wrongs and avoid new ones. We need more transparency and inclusion to ensure the burdens and benefits of new projects are distributed equitably. We need to honor sacred uses of public trust lands, and support the return of ancestral homelands to California Native Tribes. Finally, at a time when California is working to prepare for climate change and transition to a clean energy future, it is essential that we invest in the health and resilience of frontline communities. The State Lands Commission can play an important role in these efforts.

East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice and Communities for a Better Environment have joined six other environmental justice organizations in developing a series of recommendations to help the State Lands Commission fulfill its role as a steward of the public trust. We’ve outlined proactive steps the agency can take to train commissioners and staff, better engage environmental justice communities, and conduct environmental justice analyses to identify and address impacts to vulnerable communities.

We presented our recommendations at the commission’s August 23 meeting at the Port of Long Beach in the ancestral homelands of the Tongva people. It was a fitting place to discuss environmental justice. Together, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles occupy 65 miles of waterfront and bring in more than 100 ships per day. The impacts of these massive facilities are felt for miles around, from noise and traffic to smoke and exhaust that cause headaches, asthma, and elevated cancer risk throughout the South Coast region.

Since 2008, the State Lands Commission has gradually started working with both ports to mitigate these harms with parks projects, healthcare programs, clean energy investments, and grants to help neighbors upgrade their doors, windows, insulation, and air conditioning systems.

We applaud these efforts and advocate for more ambitious programs, projects and policies moving forward. We look forward to the commission’s adoption of a strong Environmental Justice Policy and commitment to taking action to create healthier communities.