Port of LA

6. RESOLUTION NO. ____________ - APPROVAL OF HARBOR COMMUNITY BENEFIT\nFOUNDATION’S AIR QUALITY MITIGATION PROGRAM, ROUND 2 GRANT AND THE\nTRANSFER OF AIR QUALITY MITIGATION PROGRAM FUNDS\nSummary: Staff requests that the Board of Harbor Commissioners (Board) approve Harbor\nCommunity Benefit Foundation’s (HCBF) selection of WattEV to receive funding from the Air\nQuality Mitigation Program, Round 2 Grant and transfer $2,000,000 from the Air Quality\nMitigation Fund (AQMF) to HCBF. The AQMF was established by the City of Los Angeles Harbor\nDepartment (Harbor Department) pursuant to a Memorandum of Agreement with HCBF and\nChina Shipping Petitioners approved by the Board in 2015 and 2021, for the purpose of funding\nmitigation projects which are reasonably calculated to reduce port-related air emissions. The\nHCBF, an independent nonprofit organization established to operate the AQMF, is responsible\nfor identifying qualifying projects to receive grant funding from the AQMF, to be approved by the\nBoard. The HCBF Board of Directors has selected WattEV to receive $2,000,000 in funding from\nthe Air Quality Mitigation Program, Round 2 Grant and is requesting Board approval of the award\nrecipient and transfer of funds from the AQMF, in accordance with the requirements of the China\nShipping Memoranda of Agreements (MOA). The proposed project has a Tidelands nexus and\nwill mitigate air emissions impacts on the local communities of Wilmington and San Pedro. Upon\nthe transfer of funds from the AQMF to HCBF, HCBF will be financially responsible for the\nproposed project and for the disbursement of funds to the grantee in accordance with the China\nShipping MOA and the Grant Agreements. The Harbor Department funded the original AQMF,\nand no additional payments from the Harbor Department will be required to fund this request.\nRecommendation: Board resolve to (1) find that the Director of Environmental Management has\ndetermined that the proposed action is administratively exempt from the requirements of the\nCalifornia Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under Article II Section 2(f) of the Los Angeles City\nCEQA Guidelines; (2) approve Harbor Community Benefit Foundation’s selection of one project\nto receive a grant of $2,000,000 from the Air Quality Mitigation Program Round 2, funded by the\nAir Quality Mitigation Fund; (3) authorize the Executive Director or his designee to execute a\njoint letter with the Harbor Community Benefit Foundation to approve the distribution of funds in\none lump sum payment of $2,000,000 from the AQMF account at Bank of America to the Harbor\nCommunity Benefit Foundation to be used in accordance with Harbor Community Benefit\nFoundation’s request; and (4) adopt Resolution No.__________.