November 3, 2011 [Daily Breeze] - The shuttered Westway liquid bulk tank farm will finally be dismantled beginning in January - and the Port of Los Angeles won't have to pay a cent.
In fact, the port will be paid about $705,000 for the massive amount of scrap metal that will be created when all 116 tanks are torn down over the next year.
“Certainly in my 30 years of experience in engineering and construction, this is the first time a contractor will pay us to do work for us,” said Shaun Shahrestani, chief harbor engineer for the Port of Los Angeles’ construction division.
The Board of Harbor Commissioners on Thursday agreed to hire Ventura-based Standard Industries to tear down the massive tanks, which once contained hazardous solvents, vegetable oils, lubricant base, aviation fuel and acids.
The demolition project was expected to cost more than $1.1 million, but the value of the salvage materials were valued at more than $1.8 million, leading to a $705,000 windfall for the port.
“We’re hoping that the price of steel will hold up during the course of this project,” Shahrestani told the harbor commission.
The liquid bulk terminal was built along the port’s Main Channel on Berths 70-72 during the 1920s, but negotiations began in 2001 to relocate Westway Terminal Corp.
Six years later, the Los Angeles City Council approved a $17 million settlement that required Westway to move off the 14-acre property, freeing up valuable space for the ongoing redevelopment of San Pedro’s waterfront. In turn, the port agreed to pay up to $30 million to clean up the site.
The tank farm was deemed a “visual hindrance” to many residents and businesses in the Harbor Area, said Cindy Miscikowski, president of the harbor commission.
“I can’t think of anything else that I’ve seen recently that’s going to have a more dramatic impact on the port,” Miscikowski said about the pending demolition project.
Ever since the settlement was reached with Westway, port officials have eyed the space as a potential home for the Southern California Marine Institute, a consortium comprised of USC, Occidental College and 10 California State University campuses.
SCMI has grown out of the marine biology lab it has occupied for nearly 30 years on Terminal Island, port officials said.
