Events & Activities
 

Ultra Low Emissions CNG Dray Truck Operating at Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles


EPA Awards $1.09M DERA Grant to Gees Bend Ferry in Wilcox County, AL 

 

Settlement with Marina to Result in Cleaner Air on Block Island

 

Toyota to Test Hydrogen Cargo Truck at Port of LA
Toyota Portal to Zero Emissions

 

IANA Intermodal EXPO 2017 - September 17-19 Long Beach, California
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Ports Initiative Vision
People living and working near ports across the country will breathe cleaner air and live better lives as a result of bold steps taken through a collaboration of industry, government and communities to improve environmental performance and increase economic prosperity.
April 2017 (Vol. 2, Ed. 2)
Ports Initiative Newsletter

Correction:  In the article "Port and Communities Collaborate in New Orleans," the name of one of the sponsoring organizations was stated incorrectly.  The name is Deep South Center for Environmental Justice.  We apologize for the error.
  
Featured News:
Please add  TalkAboutPorts@epa.gov to your address book and let us know your thoughts.  
Quick Ports Stats
Since 2008, ports have partnered with EPA through the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) on 124 clean diesel projects totaling $123 million in grant funds. More information on funding for ports at Ports Initiative website.  
 capacity
Port and Communities Collaborate in New Orleans 
Kickoff of EPA Capacity Building Pilot Project

On April 12th and 13th EPA convened a series of meetings involving the Port of New Orleans and near-port community organizations as the inaugural Near-port Community Capacity Building Pilot Project.  Technical assistance is being provided by EPA to support effective engagement between ports and nearby communities and to promote development of collaborative solutions.

Through facilitated discussions with community leaders and port senior staff, both separately and jointly, participants characterized the concerns and challenges associated with goods movement.  These stakeholders also identified goals for enhancing community/port relations and for improving local environmental conditions.

Community expertise was conveyed through participation by numerous organizations including:
  • Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development
  • Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
  • Concerned Citizens of Melia
  • Holy Cross Neighborhood Association
  • New Orleans East
  • 7th Ward Representative
The port-led waterside tour and the community-led tour of nearby neighborhoods were noted as excellent shared learning experiences and positioned participants to have effective dialogue and planning throughout this and upcoming additional site visits.
  
EPA's collaboratively-developed draft  capacity building tools were utilized in conducting assessments during the site visit and will be extensively used and refined throughout implementation of the pilot project. 

Future capacity building pilots are planned for Savannah, GA and Seattle, WA .  

For more information, go to the Ports Initiative  Pilot Projects webpage.     
funding
Project Funding - 2017 Clean Diesel Grant Program
Deadline for Proposals: June 20, 2017
 
On April 18, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of $11M in grant funding for the implementation of projects aimed at reducing emissions from the nation's existing fleet of older diesel engines.  Under this competition, between 20 and 80 grants are anticipated to be awarded to eligible applicants.

 Highlight ed Changes for This Year
  • Proposal Evaluation Criteria - Revised Project Sustainability Criteria includes up to 10 additional points to applicants and project partners that have developed in the past five years, or plan to develop by the end of the project period: 1) a publicly available baseline mobile source emission inventory or refinement of an inventory completed before 2012; 2) publicly available long term air quality plan or refinement of a plan completed before 2012; or 3) publicly available plan for meaningful engagement of the affected community to inform these inventories or air quality plans. Note: These additional points are available to applicants from any sector, and are in line with the recommendation from the MSTRS Ports Workgroup that EPA should support and incentivize the development of port emissions inventories and clean air plans.
  • Electrified Parking Spaces - Funding increased from 25% to 30%.
  • Idle Reduction Technologies - Technologies installed on highway vehicles now funded at 25%; previously required to be bundled with exhaust retrofit devices. 
Note:  See Request for Proposals for full details on project eligibility and application process.  

Questions:  cleandiesel@epa.gov . 
shore
Shore Power Technology Assessment Released
EPA recently released an assessment of shore power at U.S. ports and a calculator that is useful in estimating emissions benefits.  Information in the assessment and the calculator can be used for Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) projects.  The assessment helps provide a better understanding of shore power applications and the commonality of the systems that have been installed. 
 
Some vessel types, such as cruise, container, and refrigeration, can require significant power while at berth. Power generation is typically supplied by diesel auxiliary engines that can be significant contributors to harmful air pollution. Shore power, which typically produces zero onsite emissions, can be used by marine vessels to plug into the local electricity grid and turn off auxiliary engines while at-dock.
 
Key Findings
  • Shore power can significantly reduce diesel emissions from ships at dock.
  • Shore power for commercial marine vessels in the United States is not commonly available.
  • Vessels that frequently call on the same ports and remain at berth for longer times are potentially the best applications for shore power.
  • Many ports do not have the appropriate infrastructure to connect to vessels with shore power components.
  • Barriers to shore power installation include infrastructure and electricity costs as well as the need to modify vessels.
  • The Shore Power Emissions Calculator (SPEC) developed in conjunction with this report can be effective for estimating environmental benefits of shore power when the vessel is connected. The calculator is not appropriate for certain analyses like those performed in support of State Implementation Plans (SIPs) and Conformity.  
More Information on the Shore Power Technology Assessment at U.S. Ports can be found at the EPA  Shore Power webpage    or by sending an Email to the Tech_Center or Arman Tanman.