The proposed expansion of Carnival Cruise Line’s dock at the Port of Long Beach won’t significantly harm the environment, an initial city study has found, meaning it could possibly bypass a more rigorous, time-consuming analysis.

Carnival, an international cruise company headquartered in Florida, has plans to expand its dock as it prepares to launch a new and larger class of ship.

But first, the public gets a chance to weigh in on whether that project, dubbed the the Long Beach Cruise Terminal Improvement Project, would cause too much harm to the environment – and then the Planning Commission will need to OK the findings of the city’s initial analysis.

“The project’s potential significant adverse impacts,” according to a city document announcing Long Beach’s conclusion, “will be reduced to a less than significant level.”

The Carnival Panorama is set to cruise into the Port of Long Beach in December and replace the Carnival Splendor.

The Panorama, with its very own water park, will carry up to 4,0008 passengers; the Splendor carries 3,012.

To accommodate the larger ship, Carnival wants to increase the amount of water it leases from the Port of Long Beach by 4 acres and deepen the berth by 6 feet, according to city documents. Carnival, which has leased a dock from the port since 2003, also wants to create catwalks, expand the parking garage by 600 spaces and reconfigure traffic patterns.

If all goes to plan, the maritime improvements – such as deepening the berth – would occur before the Panorama arrives, the initial city analysis said. The total project would finish in October 2020.

But before construction can begin, officials must ensure the project won’t harm the surrounding environment.

Under state law, if a public agency finds that a construction project will cause significant harm, that agency – or whoever is undertaking the project – must perform an in-depth environmental impact report.

If the agency finds there won’t be significant impacts, it can file what’s known as a Mitigated Negative Declaration. That, in essence, would nix any need for an in-depth study.

Long Beach, in its initial analysis, filed last month, said the final Carnival project proposal would lessen any negative impacts.

“Long Beach finds that although the proposal could have a significant effect on the environment,” the city concluded, “there will not be a significant effect in this case because (of) the mitigation measures.”

But not everyone agrees.

Several environmental groups – including Citizens About Responsible Planning and the Sierra Club Los Cerritos Wetlands Task Force – have called the city’s initial study flawed.

The two groups jointly criticized that study for not addressing potential harm to kelp beds, marine mammals, birds, water quality and, “adverse Environmental Impacts Carnival Cruise ships will have, not only on the Port of Long Beach, but on the entire Ocean.”

The debate, however, is not yet over.

The public has until Sept. 26 to comment on the project and the city’s initial study. The commission will decide whether that study suffices – or whether an environmental impact report is necessary – shortly after that.

Amy L. Harbin, a city planner, will accept comments via her email, amy.harbin@longbeach.gov.

The study is available on the Planning Department website.