CEQA Documents

In cooperation with numerous agencies, the City, and the surrounding community, the Port has implemented a variety of plans and programs to identify and reduce environmental impacts from Port operations and promote community engagement and education since preparation of the WCDP EIR. These programs include measures to reduce emissions, protect habitat, improve water quality, and engage with the community. All of these efforts ultimately reduce cumulative environmental effects and will continue to do so into the future.

Water Quality

The Port makes considerable efforts to prevent pollutants potentially produced by industrial and maritime activities at the Port from reaching the surrounding waterways. Over the past 5 years, the Port spent more than $5 million on stormwater programs, including the following:

  • The Port labeled 100% of the storm drains on Port property with “No Discharge.”
  • The Port upgraded the wash pad to significantly reduce the chance of overspray and potential stormwater contamination.
  • The Port installed three “Safe Drains” near the Port fueling station. In the event of a spill, these will allow for the quick closure of nearby storm drains, thereby preventing a release to the aquatic environment.
  • The Port installs and maintains sediment traps in storm drains at key locations that are most susceptible to pollution. The Port upgraded the stormwater conveyance system on the East Complex by installing several checkdams. These dams are designed to reduce the velocity of the stormwater runoff, which dissipates some of the energy and allows solid pollutants to drop out of suspension before the water is discharged to a waterway.
  • The Port maintains and operates an aeration facility in the Stockton Deep Water Ship Channel (DWSC; which is within the San Joaquin River) to help alleviate the problems associated with low dissolved oxygen concentrations.
  • The Port maintains and operates a detention pond on the Port’s East Complex that collects stormwater and allows for settling and removal of contaminants before the water is released into the San Joaquin River.

Air Quality

The Port is developing longer-term plans and strategies to better understand and reduce air emissions related to Port development and projects. As part of this effort, the Port is conducting a Port-wide criteria pollutant and GHG emissions inventory. The Technical Working Group for the emissions inventory includes Port representatives and technical experts, including stakeholder agency representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), California Air Resources Board (ARB), and SJVAPCD.

The Port is also working with tenants and the SJVAPCD to repower and/or retrofit their existing cargo handling equipment with lower emissions engines for improved air quality. Projects that have resulted in direct emissions reductions, demonstrating the beginning of the Port’s longer-term emissions plans and strategies, include the following:

  • Replacing four older gasoline-powered trucks with new zero-emission electric vehicles for use on docks and implementing more than 30 electrical vehicle charging stations.
  • Acquiring two zero-emission, multi-use DANNAR mobile power sources fitted with forklift, scissor lift, and dump capabilities.
  • Working in tandem with the Ports of Long Beach and Oakland, the Port was awarded grant funding as part of ARB’s Zero- and Near-Zero Emission Freight Facilities Program to receive 34 forklifts from XL Lifts, a company specializing in zero- and near-zero-emissions forklifts.
    • In addition to these units, a zero-emissions railcar mover has been ordered and is scheduled to arrive in late 2020.

Habitat and Species

The Port has implemented habitat and species programs that use innovative approaches towards invasive species mitigation, while protecting and providing habitat for special-status species. Several of the Port’s programs are discussed below.

The Port is a key contributor to implementation of the Antioch Dunes Restoration Project. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) conducts annual dredging of the Stockton DWSC to improve navigability, and starting in 2013, the Port has worked with USACE and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to deliver dredged sand to the refuge to replenish habitat for endangered plant and insect species, including the Antioch Dunes Evening Primrose. The Port and its partners have completed the first cell of the restoration, holding approximately 40,000 cubic yards of sand material. The Antioch Dunes Evening Primrose has voluntarily revegetated the area, and its population has come back to its highest level since the 1970s.

The Port has installed barn owl nest boxes throughout the East and West complexes to provide nesting habitat for barn owls. The Port currently has 15 barn owl nesting boxes, which have housed over 200 new owls. The nest boxes provide valuable and safe habitat, natural rodent control, and two boxes are outfitted with streaming cameras, which allow the public to learn more about Port wildlife. The Port also maintains a number of bat roosting boxes, which provide bat habitat and natural insect control.

Arundo is an invasive giant reed that has spread throughout the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (Delta). In the past, arundo has been controlled with heavy use of herbicides. However, the Port has begun an eradication program based on two more environmentally friendly approaches: first, cutting and tarping the arundo, based on research conducted at the University of the Pacific, and second, introduction of arundo wasps, a tiny 1-centimeter-long black insect that is harmless to humans. These wasps feed and reproduce only on arundo, laying eggs in their chutes, which usually leads to the death of the plant.

Community Outreach and Support

The Port has recently formed two community engagement groups. The first group is comprised of representatives from the Port, the Port’s community outreach experts, and environmental managers from the Port’s business partners and tenants. This group has been formed to improve communication between the Port, business partners, and tenants; identify information gaps; facilitate opportunities for collaboration, cooperation, and problem solving; and define key strategies to reduce emissions and improve air quality through advancing technologies at the Port.

The second engagement group, the Environmental Justice Task Force, is currently being formed to amplify local voices. It will comprise representatives from the Port, the Port’s community outreach experts, members of the community, environmental justice groups, and local organizations. The Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Stockton, STRIVE Giving, and PUENTES have already expressed interest in joining this group, and the Port will reach out to a wide range of other community groups, including the Stockton community AB 617 Steering Committee, to ensure this task force has a diverse representation of the Stockton community. This group is being formed to create a communication channel between concerned citizens, community groups, environmental justice organizations, and the Port, thus establishing a strategic network with opportunities for enhanced communication, cooperation, collaboration, and transparency.

Project NameMapCEQA DocumentsComment PeriodProject Status
BayoTech Hydrogen Production and Dispensing Facility ProjectDraft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative DeclarationComment Period ClosedFinal IS/MND in preparation
McDonald Island Dredged Material Placement SiteJoint Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration and Supplemental Environmental Assessment to the 1980 San Francisco Bay to Stockton Environmental Impact Statement - Supplement IIIComment Period ClosedFinal IS/MND-EA in preparation
TC NO. CAL. Development Warehousing and Distribution Facility ProjectFinal Environmental Impact Report being prepared N/AFinal EIR in preparation
Draft Environmental Impact Report (01/11/2022)
Comment Period ClosedThe Port held a virtual public meeting to receive comments on the Draft EIR on February 1, 2022. A recording of the meeting can be found here.
Draft Environmental Impact Report Appendices (01/11/2022)N/A
Notice of Preparation and Initial Study (8/26/2021)N/A
Port of Stockton Rail Bridge Replacement and Rail Improvements ProjectNotice of Determination (9/22/2021)N/AFinal IS/MND approved by Port Commission
Final Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (9/2021)N/A
Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (6/25/2021)Comment Period Closed
Notice of Intent to Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration (6/25/2021)N/A
BWC (Contanda) Renewable Diesel Bulk Liquid Terminal Development ProjectNotice of Determination (5/23/2022)N/AEIR Addendum approved by Port Commission
Addendum to Contanda Renewable Diesel Bulk Liquid Terminal Development Project EIR N/A
Notice of Determination (5/21/2021)N/A
Addendum to Contanda Renewable Diesel Bulk Liquid Terminal Development Project EIRN/A
Notice of Determination (4/19/2019)N/A
Contanda Renewable Diesel Bulk Liquid Terminal Development Project Final Environmental Impact Report (4/2019)N/A
Contanda Renewable Diesel Bulk Liquid Terminal Development Project Draft Environmental Impact Report (1/2019)Comment Period Closed
Contanda Renewable Diesel Bulk Liquid Terminal Development Project Supplemental Notice of Preparation (11/2018)Comment Period Closed
Contanda Renewable Diesel Bulk Liquid Terminal Development Project Notice of Preparation (10/2018)Comment Period Closed
Denmar Natural Soda Ash Export Terminal and Remedial ActivitiesNotice of Determination (5/4/2021)N/AEIR Addendum approved by Port Commission
Addendum to the West Complex Development Plan Environmental Impact Report (04/2021) N/A
Port of Stockton Commission Findings (04/2021)N/A
West Complex Development Plan Final Environmental Impact Report (05/2004)N/A
West Complex Development Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report (11/2003)Comment Period Closed
Lehigh Southwest Stockton Terminal ProjectFinal Environmental Impact Report being preparedN/AFinal EIR in preparation
Draft Environmental Impact Report (5/22/2020)Comment Period Closed
Notice of Preparation and Initial Study (10/25/2019)Comment Period Closed
Central Valley Ag Group Bulk Whole Cottonseed Transload FacilityNotice of Determination (3/1/2021)N/AFinal IS/MND certified
Final Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (12/21/2020)N/A
Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (5/15/2020)Comment Period Closed
NuStar Marine Oil Terminal Engineering and Maintenance Standards (MOTEMS) Development and Vessel Service ProjectNotice of Determination (4/6/2020)N/AFinal EIR certified
Final Environmental Impact Report (3/23/2020)N/A
Draft Environmental Impact Report (12/16/2019)Comment Period Closed
Notice of Preparation (6/25/2019)Comment Period Closed

For all Port of Stockton California Environmental Quality Act documents with an open comment period, comments may be submitted by email to ceqa@stocktonport.com or by mail to Jason Cashman, Environmental Manager, Port of Stockton, 2201 West Washington Street, Stockton, California 95203. Emails must be received and letters must be postmarked by the end date listed under “Comment Period” next to the project.

The following historical projects are carried forward from the previous Port CEQA website and are not a complete record of Port projects.

Project NameCEQA DocumentsComment PeriodProject Status
Sanguinetti PropertyNotice of Exemption (9/22/2015)N/ANOE certified
San Joaquin International Gateway ProjectNotice of Exemption (3/17/2014)N/ANOE certified
Calamco Rail Improvement and Land LeaseNotice of Exemption (12/18/2013)N/ANOE certified
Port of Stockton Forward Command PostNotice of Exemption (8/20/2013)N/ANOE certified
Port of Stockton West Complex Dock 14 and 15 Maintenance DredgingNotice of Exemption (6/26/2013)N/ANOE certified
Port of Stockton East Complex Dock MaintenanceNotice of Exemption (6/17/2013)N/ANOE certified
Endicott Biofuels II, Inc. Biofuel Production FacilityNotice of Determination (2/4/2014)N/A
Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (11/18/2013)Comment Period ClosedIS/MND certified
Administrative Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (10/15/2013)N/A