PUBLIC MEETING SET TO DISCUSS DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR LAX CENTRAL UTILITY PLANT REPLACEMENT PROJECT

      (Los Angeles, California – July 29, 2009)   A public meeting will be held Tuesday, August 18, 2009, to discuss the project-level Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that has been prepared for the Los AngelesInternationalAirport (LAX) Central Utility Plant Replacement Project.  The meeting will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the FlightPathLearningCenter (Imperial Terminal), 6661 West Imperial Highway, Los Angeles.

            The proposed project provides for replacement of the existing Central Utility Plant (CUP) and associated infrastructure and facilities at LAX.  The existing CUP provides heating and air conditioning to the LAX Central Terminal Area (CTA) and includes a co-generation facility that uses steam from the boiler system to drive an electricity generator.  The resulting power is sold back to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).

            The existing CUP, constructed in 1961, and the co-generation facility, brought into service in 1985, are considered obsolete and inefficient relative to present-day technology.  They require substantial maintenance and do not meet LAX’s current needs.

            The CUP Replacement Project will include replacement of the existing cooling towers,

construction of an underground thermal energy storage  tank at the site of the existing

CUP, electrical upgrades to include a new electrical substation and a retro-fit of the existing

LADWP substation.   

            The project will also install new fire management and fire safety systems

and replace the chilled water and hot water service lines in the CTA.  In addition, the project

includes the potential installation of a recycled-reclaimed water pipeline and treatment system

and the potential use of biogas from the Hyperion Treatment Plant to augment the natural

gas system.

            Construction of the new CUP is expected to take approximately four years to complete.

            Copies of the Draft EIR are available for review at the following libraries:

·         Westchester-Loyola Village Branch, 7114 W. Manchester Ave., Los Angeles.

·         Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Branch, 3900 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles.

·         Culver City Library, 4975 Overland Ave.

·         Inglewood Library, 101 W. Manchester Blvd.

·         El Segundo Library, 111 W. Mariposa Ave.

·         Hawthorne Library, 12700 Grevillea Ave.

·         Lennox Library, 4359 Lennox Blvd.

The Draft EIR is also available online at www.ourlax.org.  It can also be purchased through Printco Graphics, Inc., by calling (323) 727-6868 or by e-mail atron@printcola.com.

Any comments on the Draft EIR should be submitted in writing by 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14, 2009, to: Lisa Dugas, Los Angeles World Airports, 7301 World Way West, 3rd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90045-5803, or via e-mail toLAXCentralUtilitiesPlant@lawa.org.