After more than seven years in development, the marine oil terminal proposed by Plains All American Pipeline for Pier 400 will go before the Port of Los Angeles harbor commission on Thursday for certification of the project’s final Environmental Impact Report.

The project calls for a five-acre marine oil terminal with a new wharf at Berth 408 and two 250,000-barrel storage tanks nearby. The development extends to Terminal Island via pipeline to 14 additional 250,000-barrel storage tanks on a 47.7-acre tank farm. Total storage capacity will be four million barrels. The initial capacity represents an estimated 30 to 35 percent of Southern California’s existing demand for crude oil.

The project represents an infrastructure investment of at least $538 million, with Plains All American footing the lion’s share of the bill and the port paying for the remainder. The total cost is expected to be higher when more current numbers become available.

If harbor commissioners certify the EIR, their action will trigger a series of votes, approvals and finalization of the lease agreement needed for the project to proceed. If built, the development will make history as the first new marine oil terminal to be built in California since 1982, the first one ever under the port’s Clean Air Action Plan and the state’s new Marine Oil Terminal Engineering and Maintenance Standards, and the only crude oil import terminal in Southern California able to receive fully loaded, deep-draft, very large crude carriers (VLCC) oil tankers.