POLA Emissions Report Shows Continued Progress

By Mark Edward Nero

The Port of Los Angeles has largely continued to preserve clean air gains that have reduced key pollutants, lowered health risk in surrounding communities and improved the quality of life in the greater Los Angeles area, according to the latest release of an annual report.

The detailed inventory’s latest findings, which were publicly revealed Aug. 18, are based on data collected during calendar year 2015 and reviewed by regional, state and federal air regulatory agencies.

The results show the port continues to exceed its 2023 targets for reducing diesel particulate matter and sulfur oxides (77 percent and 93 percent, respectively) and is within striking distance of its 2023 target of reducing NOx emissions 59 percent.

The port also held the line on reducing the health risk of port-related emissions by lowering them 85 percent.

The baseline for the levels is 2005, the year before the port adopted a massive environmental effort known as the San Pedro Bay Clean Air Action Plan.

Overall, diesel particulate matter (DPM) emissions remain down 85 percent from all sources related to port operations, replicating the port’s record set in 2014, according to the report. Likewise, sulfur oxides (SOx) emissions are down 97 percent, nearing total elimination. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions are down 51 percent, just one percent shy of the 52 percent reduction rate in 2014.

The emissions inventory also shows that greenhouse gas emissions were 10 percent below the 2005 baseline, but the 2015 GHG emissions were higher than port emissions in 2014, when they were 16 percent below the 2005 baseline. The increased 2015 GHG emissions are mostly attributed by the port to congestion issues experienced in the first part of 2015. With congestion now behind it, the port says it anticipates a return to larger GHG emissions reductions for 2016, as it continues its efforts to achieve a goal of reducing GHGs 80 percent by 2050, based on 1990 levels.

Cargo handling equipment upgrades played a key role in offsetting congestion-related emissions in 2015, as the upgrades helped diesel particulates remain stable compared to 2014 with only a small increase in NOx emissions.

Replacing and retrofitting off-road terminal equipment has been a mainstay of the Clean Air Action Plan since its inception, and the use of the cleanest available engines jumped to 45 percent of all cargo handling equipment, up from 30 percent in 2014.

The POLA’s full 2015 air emission inventory can be seen at https://www.portoflosangeles.org/pdf/2015_Air_Emissions_Inventory.pdf.

Two Ocean Carriers, LMC Fined By Calif. Air Regulators

California state air regulators have handed out more than $160,000 in fines over the past two weeks to three transportation-related firms for violations of state environmental laws.

Last week, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) fined two shipping lines for incidents in 2010 where one vessel from each carrier failed to switch from bunker fuel to cleaner-burning, low-sulfur fuel while sailing within 24 miles of the California coast, as required by state law.

The Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company and Poland-based Chipolbrok Shipping Company were each fined $53,000 by CARB. The November, 2010 violations involve calls at the Port of Long Beach by the MSC Aniello and Chipolbrok's vessel Wieniawski. According to CARB, both vessels used the more polluting bunker fuel "well within the 24-mile limit from the coast" where state law mandates the use of low-sulfur fuel by ocean going vessels.

CARB said that the low-sulfur fuel measure, adopted in 2008, eliminates 15 tons of diesel exhaust daily from ocean-going vessels, and the agency considers the measure "a vital tool in helping to reduce premature deaths and the risk of cancer associated with air pollution in the state’s busy ports and trade corridors."

As part of their settlements with ARB, MSC and Chipolbrok each agreed to pay their fines to the California Air Pollution Control Fund to support air quality research. The two firms must also follow all fuel switchover requirements, and maintain accurate records.

"Cargo vessels can burn some of the dirtiest fuels on the planet and we need to make sure that their engine emissions don't reach our coast," ARB Enforcement Chief James Ryden said in announcing the fines.

"Our fuel regulation is vitally important because it requires shippers to switch to cleaner-burning fuels that help fight air pollution in our coastal regions and port communities."

On August 29, CARB also announced a $59,050 fine against Ontario, Calif.-based motor carrier IVVE Transportation for dispatching trucks not compliant with the emission standards set forth in ARB’s Drayage Truck Regulation.

The regulations, adopted in December 2007 to cut diesel emissions by port-servicing drayage trucks, prohibit the use of pre-1994 model year trucks from servicing ports or rail facilities. The regulations also require 1995 to 2006 trucks to be retrofit with diesel exhaust filters. The regulation also requires that by 2014 all vehciles used in drayage must be 2007 or newer models.

Under the settlement with IVVE Transportation, $44,287.50 of the firm's fine will go to the California Air Pollution Control fund to support air quality research, and $14,762.50 to the Peralta Community College district to help fund diesel education classes around the state. The motor carrier also agreed to cease operating non-compliant vehicles.

"It is especially important for companies involved in moving freight to use the cleanest engines they can afford since they spend so much time on our roads and highways," ARB’s Ryden said.

"We commend businesses that acknowledge their mistakes and then move in the right direction, such as IVVE Transportation. We have to make clean air a priority and that can only happen when businesses do whatever it takes to follow clean air regulations."

Los Angeles Port Study Finds Dramatic Reductions In Port-Area Pollution

Port of Los Angeles officials on Thursday released the port's 2010 Inventory of Air Emissions, which details dramatic drops in levels of all port-generated air pollution compared to levels recorded in 2009.

The report found a sizable 41.9 percent drop in total particulate matter (PM) generated by port activity compared to 2009 levels, and an even more dramatic 72.3 percent drop in total PM over levels recorded in 2005 when the port first conducted an emissions inventory.

The 2010 edition of the report also marks the fourth straight year that the port-funded annual analysis has detailed significant reductions in port-generated pollution.

In addition to drops in total PM levels, the annual emission inventory showed dramatic reductions in all major pollutant categories compared to 2009, including all three individual PM categories, the oxides of sulfur category (SOx) and the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) category.

Diesel particulate matter (DPM) was down 42 percent in 2010 compared to 2009 levels, PM10 levels were down 41.7 percent and PM2.5 levels were also down 42 percent. Particulate matter, the largest of which is most clearly seen as soot in engine smokestacks, is linked to various respiratory problems. The three categories cover increasingly smaller particulates, with PM2.5 being the smallest, and according to most respiratory health officials, the most serious impactor of the three to human health.

Port-generated SOx levels in 2010 were down 45 percent compared to the previous year, and 2010 NOx levels were down 27 percent. SOx and NOx are both related to various respiratory ailments. NOx is also a precursor of smog.

The nearly 230-page port analysis also compared 2010 port-area pollution levels to 2005 levels – the year the port's first emissions inventory was compiled. This comparison attempts to provide a pre- and post-picture of the impacts on pollution reduction afforded by the port's ongoing omnibus environmental program – the Clean Air Action Plan – which was implemented in 2006.

The port's 2010 DPM levels have fallen 72.7 percent from 2005 levels, while PM10 and PM2.5 levels have both fallen 72.2 percent.

The port's 2010 SOx levels have dropped 76.8 percent since 2005 and 2010 NOx levels in the port-area are 52.8 percent lower than those seen in 2005.

The emissions inventory analyzes port-area emissions from forklifts, locomotives, ships, trucks, tugboats and other equipment that move cargo at the port.

The inventory's results were reviewed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the California Air Resources Board and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

“The air quality in the Los Angeles Harbor is improving as a result of the substantial investments by the port, its tenants and other port-related businesses have made in recent years by purchasing cleaner equipment and participating in a variety of emission-reduction initiatives,” port Executive Director Geraldine Knatz said.

A similar report released less than a month ago by the neighboring Port of Long Beach found si9milar reductions in all pollutants, both compared to 2009 and over the five-year period between 2005 and 2010.

The primary contributing factors for the major reductions, according to both ports, were the ubiquitous use of lower-sulfur fuels by all waterfront equipment – especially the ocean-going ships – and the continued phasing out of the oldest ports-servicing trucks under the port's Clean Trucks Plan that began in 2008.

Other factors include an expansion and high compliance rate of a voluntary vessel speed reduction program where most ships slow down to reduce air pollution within 40 miles of the Port, and the continued changeover of yard equipment and the port-servicing Pacific Harbor Line locomotive fleet.

The full 2010 Los Angeles emissions inventory is available on the port website at www.portoflosangeles.org. The previously released Long Beach inventory for 2010 is available at www.polb.com.

Long Beach Port Study Shows Significant Cuts In Port-Area Pollution

The latest annual analysis of pollution reduction efforts at the Port of Long Beach has shown a 72 percent decline in port-area diesel particulates between 2005 and 2010. The document, released Monday by port officials, also marks the fourth straight year that the port-funded annual analysis has detailed significant reductions in port-generated pollution.

The annual "emission inventory" showed dramatic reductions in all major pollutant categories compared to 2009, including all three particulate matter categories, the oxides of sulfur category (SOx) and the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) category.

Diesel particulate matter (DPM) was down 42 percent in 2010 compared to 2009 levels, PM10 levels were down 41 percent and PM2.5 levels were also down 41 percent. Particulate matter, the largest of which is most clearly seen as soot in engine smokestacks, is linked to various respiratory problems. The three categories cover increasingly smaller particulates, with PM2.5 being the smallest, and according to most respiratory health officials, that with the most serious impact of the three on human health.

Port-generated SOx levels in 2010 were down 52.5 percent compared to the previous year, and 2010 NOx levels were down 17.1 percent. SOx and NOx are both related to various respiratory ailments. NOx is also a precursor of smog.

The nearly 350-page port analysis also compared 2010 port-area pollution levels to 2005 levels--the year the port's first emissions inventory was compiled. This comparison attempts to provide a pre- and post-picture of the impacts on pollution reduction afforded by the port's ongoing omnibus environmental program--the Clean Air Action Plan--which was implemented in 2006.

The port's 2010 DPM levels have fallen 72 percent from 2005 levels, while PM10 and PM2.5 levels have both fallen 70 percent.

The port's 2010 SOx levels have dropped 73 percent since 2005 and 2010 NOx levels in the port-area are 46 percent lower than those seen in 2005.

The emissions inventory analyzes port-area emissions from forklifts, locomotives, ships, trucks, tugboats and other equipment that move cargo at the port.

The inventory's results were reviewed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the California Air Resources Board and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

“We’re seeing the benefits of the hard work by the Port and the entire goods movement industry to reduce air pollution and to be better neighbors to the community,” Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners President Susan Anderson Wise said. “And we’re not finished. We are continually exploring new practices and technologies to improve air quality in the harbor to benefit the entire region.”

The primary contributing factors to the major reduction, according to the inventory, was the ubiquitous use of lower-sulfur fuels by all waterfront equipment – but especially the ocean-going ships – and the continued phasing out of the oldest trucks under the port's Clean Trucks Plan that began in 2008.

Other factors include an expansion and high compliance rate of a voluntary vessel speed reduction program where most ships slow down to reduce air pollution within 40 miles of the Port, and the continued changeover of yard equipment and the port-servicing Pacific Harbor Line locomotive fleet.

The full 2010 emissions inventory is available on the port website at www.polb.com.

Seven Maritime Firms Honored by SoCal Ports for Green Efforts

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have selected seven local maritime and cargo companies as this year's recipients of the Clean Air Action Plan Air Quality Awards.

This year's recipients, ranging from ocean carriers to terminal operators to trucking firms, were cited for "taking extraordinary measures" to cut air emissions, modernize facilities and implement innovative operations to reduce air pollution.

"These partners have shown a real commitment to cleaner and greener port operations, going above and beyond what is required," Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Geraldine Knatz said.

"These awards highlight what can be achieved when entities join forces and embrace innovation to better the environment."

In congratulating the winners, Port of Long Beach Executive Director Richard Steinke added, “The Clean Air Action Plan awards are a fantastic way to put a spotlight on the often times unheralded efforts of the goods movement industry to meet and exceed air quality goals, and to invent a better way to cleaner air for everyone."

The awards, now in their fourth year, were an outgrowth of the two ports' San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan in 2006. Tenants and other organizations that serve the ports are eligible to be nominated. The judging panel includes port staff, as well as representatives from the South Coast Air Quality Management District, California Air Resources Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The trucking group Clean Truck Coalition, transportation firm Ability/Tri-Modal Transportation Services, and carrier Evergreen Line were each recipients in the award's "Air Quality Improvement Leadership at the Corporate Level" category.

The Clean Truck Coalition, a group of ten family-owned licensed motor carriers, created a partnership and “pooling agreement” that required its members to share information to better utilize their collective truck fleets. The group was also cited for investing $109 million in new equipment, including nearly 1,000 new diesel and liquefied natural gas trucks – representing about 11 percent of all new trucks at the San Pedro Bay Port complex.

Family-owned trucking warehouse and distribution firm Ability/Tri-Modal was cited for efforts over the past two years to replace its entire fleet of 51 drayage trucks with port-certified clean trucks, resulting in significant emission reductions.

Evergreen was cited for nearly a decade of corporate environmental efforts, including the addition of S-type “Greenships” into its fleet and participation in the Port of Los Angeles' Vessel Speed Reduction program.

In the "Innovative Operations that Improve Air Quality" category, carrier Hamburg Sud and terminal operator Yusen Terminals each received awards.

Hamburg Sud was cited for 100 percent compliant participation in the Port of Long Beach’s Green Flag vessel speed reduction program.

Yusen Terminals, which operates a terminal at the Port of Los Angeles, was cited for a number of innovative operational improvements to reduce emissions and increase efficiency, including restructuring its terminal traffic flow patterns to reduce the distance that trucks and workers need to travel to complete cargo pickups and drop-offs.

Ocean carrier NYK Line and marine transportation/towing firm Sause Bros. each received awards in the "Significant Early Action to Reduce Air Pollutant Emissions" category.

NYK, which calls at the Los Angeles port, was cited for its voluntary and accelerated compliance with a California Air Resource Board (CARB) regulation requiring ship-to-shore powering of vessels at dock by 2014.

Sause Bros., which provides marine transportation and ocean towing services at the two Southern California ports, was cited for repowering five of its harbor vessels and replacing 17 engines with cleaner, lower-emission technology – all well in advance of CARB requirement deadlines.

Northwest Ports Detail Progress on Clean Air Program

The ports of Metro Vancouver, B.C., Tacoma, Seattle, released a report this week detailing the progress the three port authorities have made on the goals of their collaborative omnibus plan to cut port-related air pollution in the Puget Sound and Georgia air basins.

The Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy (NPCAS), developed jointly by the three port authorities and adopted in early 2008, includes long- and short-term programs to address and reduce air pollution from cargo-handling equipment, harbor craft, ocean-going vessels, rail, and trucks servicing the ports.

The newly released implementation report details the improvements achieved by all three ports through their NPCAS programs as well as their efforts to achieve the NPCAS goals by working with customers, tenants, and air and environmental regulatory agencies.

According to the three port authorities, the 2010 implementation report results mark the end of the NPCAS's first milestone, "showing progress in producing cleaner air for the communities that surround our harbors."

The 2010 results contained within the implementation report include:

• Cargo-handling equipment: Approximately 62 percent of diesel-powered yard equipment met the NPCAS performance goal through retrofits, replacements and/or use of low-sulfur fuels.
• Harbor craft: Despite technical challenges, made progress through replaced engines, shore power connections, resurfaced hulls and/or low-sulfur fuels.
• Ocean-Going Vessels: Approximately 44 percent of frequently calling ocean-going vessels used low-sulfur fuels or electrical shore power to meet the NPCAS performance measure.
• Trucks: Approximately 98 percent of ports-servicing drayage trucks met the NPCAS goals through outreach, engine retrofits or incentive programs.
• Rail: Partner agencies replaced rail engines, added idle- and friction-reduction technologies and used low-sulfur fuels.

The 46-page implementation report, available at each port authorities' website, outlines detailed results for each port. The report also details efforts under way to meet the NPCAS' more stringent 2015 standards.

APL is First to Plug Into Landside Power at Oakland Port

With the implementation date for California air regulations requiring ship-to-shore power for container vessels calling at the state's major ports rapidly approaching, port authorities throughout the state are all moving forward with major efforts to electrify their docks.

On Thursday, the Singapore-based APL became the first ocean carrier to plug into a ship-to-shore system at the Port of Oakland.

Ship-to-shore systems allow vessels to plug into the landside power grid while at berth. Called "cold-ironing," this allows vessels to use the landside electricity to power systems aboard the vessel normally powered by onboard diesel-powered auxiliary engines. Shutting off the auxiliary engines allows vessels to dramatically cut their per call emissions at the port: approximately 1,000 pounds of smog-forming nitrogen oxides emissions, 165 pounds of sulfur oxides, and 30 pounds of particulate matter can be eliminated in a 24-hour port call.

On Thursday, the 900-foot-long APL Singapore berthed at APL’s Global Gateway Central terminal, plugged into the dock's ship-to-shore system and switched off its auxiliary engines. According to port officials, it was the official launch of an APL program to have five vessels cold-ironing this year in the transpacific trade between Asia and the US.

APL has spent $11 million to retrofit the five container vessels and re-wire its Oakland terminal with a ship-to-shore system. It was awarded $4.8 million in California Air Resources Board grants by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to complete the project.

"We have brought cold-ironing to the port," APL Americas President Gene Seroka said. "When others do as well, we can further reduce vessel emissions and re-enforce that global trade growth is sustainable."

APL predicts that cold-ironing can eradicate 50,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides emissions from its ships annually in Oakland. Emissions of particulate matter should also drop by 1,500 pounds a year.

California air regulations mandating cold-ironing for container ships are set to take effect in 2014. At that time, half of an ocean carrier’s fleet must rely on shore power when berthed in California ports. APL is one of only a handful of carriers currently cold-ironing in California, and the only one in Oakland.

The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles already have several ship-to-shore systems in place, with plans to rapidly expand the availability throughout both ports by 2014. Other ports, such as the Port of Hueneme, are also moving forward with plans to install ship-to-shore systems.

California Air Quality Agency Awards $58M for Ship-to-Shore Systems

The air pollution control agency for much of Southern California announced Friday that it had awarded $58 million from voter-approved Proposition 1B funding for ship-to-shore power projects at major ports in the state.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District awards will provide funding to help build 25 ship-to-shore systems for ships calling on area ports. Ten ship-to-shore systems will be built at the Port of Los Angeles, 12 at the Port of Long Beach and three at Port Hueneme. Currently, the Port of Los Angeles has four such systems and the Port of Long Beach has three. All of the projects are expected to be complete by the end of 2013.

Ship-to-shore systems allow vessels at outfitted docks to plug into the landside power grid for electricity to keep the vessel's onboard equipment and systems operating while berthed. Most vessels supply this power by running onboard diesel auxiliary engines, one of the leading generators of air pollution during a vessel call. Vessels plugging into a ship-to-shore system can shut off their auxiliary engines, cutting their emissions generated per call by up to 50 percent. Most vessels must be specially modified to plug into a ship-to-shore system.

Also included in the AQMD announcement was a $1.6 million award to Carnival Cruise Lines to modify one passenger cruise ship in its fleet so that it is capable of using ship-to-shore power while docked at the Port of Long Beach cruise terminal. AQMD previously awarded Carnival $5 million for the installation of a ship-to-shore system at the Long Beach cruise terminal. The project is expected to be completed this fall.

“The projects approved today will eliminate thousands of tons of pollution during the next decade,” AQMD Governing Board chairman William Burke said. “Clean, zero-emission technology is here and we must accelerate its use now for the health of all Southland residents – and especially those living in communities near the ports.”

Beginning Jan. 1, 2014, a California Air Resources Board regulation will require an increasing number of container and passenger ships to be capable of using ship-to-shore systems when at berth in California ports.

The shore-side power projects are expected to reduce 762 tons per year of nitrogen oxide emissions, or NOx, and 13 tons per year of particulate matter, or PM, emissions over 10 years. Modifying one Carnival Cruise ship to accept ship-to-shore power will reduce 59 tons per year of NOx emissions and 2 tons per year of PM.

Report: Los Angeles Port Air Quality Improved in 2010

The Port of Los Angeles announced Thursday that new air quality data from monitoring stations in and around the port show airborne elemental carbon concentrations in the port area fell in 2010 for the fourth straight year. The data, part of an annual air quality report, show that elemental carbon was down 10 percent compared to 2009 and cumulatively down 50 percent since 2006. The measured 2010 levels were the lowest since monitoring began in 2005 – despite the port handling 16 percent more cargo in last year.

Elemental carbon, used as an indicator of ambient diesel particulate matter, or DPM, is most often seen as the soot component of diesel exhaust. DPM has been labeled a toxic air contaminant and known carcinogen by California state health officials.
The port has made reducing DPM, oxides of nitrogen and oxides of sulfur a priority since adopting the omnibus environmental policy, the Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP), in 2006.

“I’m very pleased to be able to report that we are living up to our CAAP commitment – we pledged to cut Port-related emissions by 45 percent, and these results show that for diesel exhaust we did more,” Port Executive Director Geraldine Knatz said.

The new data also showed a reduction in the levels of another major air pollutant related to diesel exhaust, PM2.5 (particles less than 2.5 microns in size). The port's 2010 PM2.5 levels met federal and state standards for the third straight year, and for the first time PM10 (particles less than 10 microns in size) also met state standards in the port-abutting community of Wilmington (there is no federal standard for PM10).

The port cites this data as proof positive that the CAAP, other port actions, and significant buy-in from stakeholders and industry are improving the port-area air quality in significant ways.

”This dramatic decline in the amount of DPM and the fact that we have attained air quality standards for both kinds of PM show how effective the measures we adopted in the Clean Air Action Plan are at reducing harmful air pollutants in neighboring communities,” Port’s Director of Environmental Management Chris Cannon said. “Every year shows an improvement over the previous year, making me very optimistic that we are going to achieve our Clean Air Action Plan goals.”

A major component of the port's CAAP (adopted in conjunction with the neighboring Port of Long Beach) has been the port's self-titled Clean Truck Program. Implemented in 2008, the program required all trucks serving the two ports to be 2007 model year or newer as of Jan. 1, 2010. With the assistance of a more than $650 million investment by the trucking industry to modernize the ports-servicing truck fleet, more than 90 percent of all moves in the dual port complex are now handled by a drayage fleet of roughly 10,000 cleaner-burning 2007 or newer model year trucks.

The Port of Long Beach is expected to issue its annual air quality report within the next several months.

Long Beach Port Awards $5M for Local Health Programs

The Port of Long Beach announced last week the awarding of $5 million in grants to fund ten projects aimed at improving what port officials call "the lung and heart health of people who live closest to the port."

The port funds will pay for projects that will educate families on asthma care, screen at-risk populations for respiratory illness, and build a cardiovascular disease diagnosis laboratory.

Announced recipients of the funds include: St. Mary Medical Center; The Children’s Clinic; the City of Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services; the Long Beach Comprehensive Health Center; the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America; the Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma; BREATHE California of Los Angeles County; Miller Children’s Hospital of Long Beach; Cambodian Association of America; and, the Westside Neighborhood Clinic.

“These grants [are going] to health programs that directly help the people most affected by air pollution from the goods movement industry,” Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners President Nick Sramek said.

“We continue to work to reduce air pollution at the source, but these grants help us address the overall effects of the Port’s presence.”

The grants, which range from $120,000 to $835,000, include health outreach projects to inform people – especially the most sensitive – about care and prevention of respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses. Other projects involve mobile units to bring health outreach and screening programs directly to the communities closest to the Port, and air filters for a children’s hospital.

The award recipients were selected by the port with input from a five-member advisory committee representing the community, industry and a regulatory agency.

The port has long struggled to combat both legacy pollution issues as well as the pollution from daily operations in and out of the immediate port area. Since the 2006 implementation of numerous pollution-cutting programs contained within the port's Clean Air Action Plan, port-generated pollution has collectively been reduced by 50 percent, including a more than 80 percent reduction in pollution from port-servicing diesel trucks.

TOTE Installing Rain Garden

The Federal Way-based carrier Totem Ocean Trailer Express plans to install the South Sound's first industrial rain garden next week at the Port of Tacoma.

Plans call for more than 100 TOTE employees and volunteers, in conjunction with Seattle-based non-profit Stewardship Partners, to create the rain garden through the planting of about 600 native plants at the TOTE terminal along the Blair Waterway. The Port of Tacoma and the Tacoma Garden Club are also contributing to the project.

According to Stewardship Partners, which assists landowners with restoring and preserving natural landscapes, rain gardens are planted depressions that work like a native forest by capturing and naturally filtering stormwater redirected from rooftops, driveways, and other hard surfaces. Rain gardens reduce flooding by absorbing water from impervious surfaces; filter oil, grease and toxic materials before they can pollute streams, lakes and bays; help to recharge the aquifer by increasing the quantity of water that soaks into the ground; and, provide beneficial wildlife habitat.

Native plants are recommended for rain gardens because they generally don't require fertilizer and are more tolerant of one’s local climate, soil, and water conditions, and attract local wildlife such as native birds.

The TOTE rain garden will be fed by water from the terminal and the roofs of terminal buildings.

TOTE is no stranger to environmental firsts at the port. The carrier, working with the port and utilizing American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency, added shore power at the terminal in 2010 to allow ships to cut emissions by turning off their auxiliary diesel engines while docked at the terminal and connecting to the landside electrical power grid.

Nadler Reintroduces Bill Seeking Changes to Interstate Commerce Laws

A House Democrat from New York has for the second time introduced legislation that would change federal commerce law language and allow local government entities like port authorities to regulate interstate trucking.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler on Wednesday introduced the Clean Ports Act of 2011, which seeks to allow ports nationwide to set their own local standards for truck emissions, business practices, and employee status. The goal is to curb emissions from port trucks.

“The Clean Ports Act represents a crucial modernization of federal law that would dramatically improve the quality of air for the estimated 87 millions Americans who live and work near major container ports,” Nadler said. “It is indefensible that ports are being challenged [sic] from enforcing clean truck programs to replace highly polluting and outmoded diesel trucks."

Nadler is referring to litigation brought by the American Trucking Associations in 2008 against the Port of Los Angeles Clean Truck Program's access license scheme. Trucking firms wishing to obtain an access license and continue working at the port were required to agree to a laundry list of port-developed criteria, including a mandate that trucking firms use only per-hour employees instead of the more prevalent per-load drivers.

The ATA argued in federal District Court that while the group did not oppose the purely environmental portions of the truck plans such as the incremental model year bans on older trucks, the access license portions violated federal law.

Specifically, the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution and the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994.

The Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution provides that federal laws “shall be the supreme law of the land.” Thus, when state and federal law conflicts, federal law trumps – or preempts – the state law.

The FAAAA, also known as F4A, includes a federal statue regarding preemption that states, “A State, political subdivision of a State, or political authority of two or more States may not enact or enforce a law, regulation, or other provision having the force and effect of law related to a price, route, or service of any motor carrier.”

While agreeing with the ATA that portions of the access license scheme violates federal law, a federal district judge ruled in September 2010 that the port is exempt from application of the laws.

A federal appellate court is currently considering whether the lower court ruling in favor of the port was proper. A decision is expected before summer.

Nadler's Clean Ports Act, which is nearly identical to a bill he introduced last year, would essentially codify the lower court decision that the ports are exempt. It seeks to change the F4A language, thereby reversing trucking deregulation that was put into effect in the 1980s and 1990s.

Ironically, the truck program in Los Angeles, despite having portions of the access license scheme enjoined almost since the truck program's implementation, has still by all accounts been highly successful in its original goal to reduce truck emissions. The program, along with a similar program at the Port of Long Beach and a more than $650 million fleet modernization investment by the private trucking industry, are credited with eliminating more than 80 percent of the primary diesel pollutants generated by port drayage in Southern California.

Oakland Port Gets $5M to Electrify Three Busy Berths

The Port of Oakland has received $5 million from Bay Area air quality regulators to install ship-to-shore power systems at three frequently used berths.

Officials from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District hope that the funds, along with $3.9 million also handed out to four technology firms to provide electric vehicle charging infrastructure, will spur other metropolitan areas nationwide to move in a similar direction.

“Shore power is one of the most effective ways to reduce emissions from vessels at the Port of Oakland,” BAAQMD Executive Officer Jack Broadbent said. “These projects will significantly reduce pollution and improve air quality.”

Ship-to-shore power systems allow vessels calling at the port to plug into the landside power grid for electricity needed to keep ship systems operating while at berth. This allows the ships to turn off their diesel auxiliary engines that normally provide maintenance power while at dock. Running these auxiliary creates up to half of all the pollution that vessels generate per port visit.

Installation of the ship-to-shore systems will occur at three of the port's most frequented berths – one at the Hanjin Terminal and two at the Oakland International Container Terminal – which collectively see visits from around 500 vessels per year.
Officials at BAAQMD estimate that the ship-to-shore systems will eliminate 33 tons of ozone forming pollutants and particulate matter from Bay Area skies per year.

The ship-to-shore projects are being funded through the Air District’s Mobile Source Incentive Fund, which is collected from a $2 registration surcharge fee on vehicles registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles in the District’s jurisdiction.

According to the BAAQMD, an additional $20 million in funding is now available for shore power systems and cargo handling equipment projects through the BAAQMD Goods Movement Program. Applications are available online at: http://www.baaqmd.gov/ goods. Applications are due by March 15, and will be reviewed, evaluated and ranked by Air District staff.

California Air Regulators Claim Success in Reducing Freight Emissions

The California Air Resources Board is claiming success in a wide range of pollution reduction programs that have targeted goods movement statewide and, according to the agency, dramatically cut diesel emissions along major trade corridors and near ports.

CARB Executive Director James Goldstene cited success in CARB programs addressing trucks, rail and ships, all under the umbrella of the state's Goods Movement Emission Reduction Program. The overall program is supported by $1 billion in voter-approved Proposition 1B bonds, of which $450 million has already been allocated.

More than 5300 diesel trucks traveling the state’s busiest trade routes are being cleaned up, said Goldstene. In addition, 19 locomotives operating in the Central Valley and Southern California are being upgraded, and clean electrical power will be available this spring for ships docking at the Port of Oakland thanks to $250 million as part of implementation of CARB’s goods movement program.

"We estimate that these projects will eliminate more than 3 million pounds of diesel soot plus 60 million pounds of smog-forming pollutants from our environment over the next few years," said Goldstene.

Goldstene also touted the success of the GMER program to leverage substantial matching funds from private, local and federal sources - more than one match dollar for every program dollar invested.

"This leveraging has resulted in an additional $300 million above and beyond the Prop 1B bond funds to aid in overseeing pollution reduction projects through to their completion within the next few years," said Goldstene.

To update the 5300 trucks -- including those that service the state's three major ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland--older trucks have been replaced with new diesel models or those powered by natural gas meeting cleaner 2007 or later emission standards.

In the four trade corridors targeted by the GMER program (Bay Area, Central Valley, Los Angeles/Inland Empire, San Diego/Border), most equipment owners opted to replace their trucks. However, in the Bay Area, a majority of the port drayage truck owners chose to retrofit their vehicles with diesel soot filters that trap at least 85 percent of particulate emissions.

In a shift from many previous programs, one-third of the trucks that received program funding are owned by independent owner-operators, and half of the funded vehicles are in fleets of 20 or fewer trucks, considered in California to be a small or medium-sized fleet.

Additional cleanup activities focusing on installing clean electric power for ships at dock will get underway as air districts start soliciting for over $80 million in projects in early 2011. CARB allocated an additional $112 million for more truck cleanup efforts, with smaller grants to be available to clean up locomotives and harbor craft such as tug boats.

SoCal Ports' Rail Service to Upgrade 16 Locomotives to Tier 3

Pacific Harbor Line, the railroad that provides service within the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, has signed a $12 million deal with a Caterpillar Inc. subsidiary to repower 16 older Tier 2 locomotives with newer, less emissive Tier 3 Caterpillar engines.

Under the terms of the deal, the 16 locomotives will be sent to Caterpillar-subsidiary Progress Rail Services Corporation's Tacoma, Wash facility in 2011 for fitting with Cat 3512C HD engines, including diesel particulate filters. Once certified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for service, the repowered engines will boost PHL's existing fleet of six Tier 3 compliant locomotives to 22.

The EPA's Tier 3 engine standards for locomotives took effect this year. Tier 0, 1 or 2 engine standards apply only to engines made before 2005, and these locomotives can still operate as long as the engine is not replaced. Locomotives that are being repowered must be brought up to the latest engine standards. Even more stringent Tier 4 standards go into effect in 2015.

"This will be the cleanest locomotive fleet in North America," said PHL Managing Director Andrew Fox. "Particulate matter (PM) will be reduced by more than 90 percent from the current engines, which were already among the cleanest in the country."
The repowering project is being funded in large part by a grant from the Carl Moyer Program administered by the South Coast Air Quality Management District and California Air Resources Board, and with funds from Pacific Harbor Line.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach facilitated this project by entering into agreements with PHL, making it possible for the railroad to commit to long-term use of Progress Rail's sustainable locomotives as a part of the ports' Clean Air Action Plan.

"Being selected by PHL, which has been a leader in many ways, including being named Short Line of the Year by Railway Age in 2009, is truly an honor. It was the first railroad in the country to field an all Tier 2 and Tier 3 fleet in 2008," said Billy Ainsworth, president and CEO of Progress Rail. "We are pleased that PHL has selected Progress Rail and low-emission Caterpillar engines as the solution that creates the most value and takes PHL to the next level."

PHL, an affiliate of Anacostia & Pacific Company, Inc., provides rail service on 75 miles of track located within and owned by the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Customers include nine on-dock intermodal terminals generating more than one million intermodal carloads per year, along with numerous other customers accounting for more than 36,000 units of carload freight annually.

Seattle Port Ramps Up Low Sulfur Fuel Program for Calling Vessels

The governing board for the Port of Seattle has approved an additional $110,000 for an emission reduction program that encourages shipping and cruise lines to burn cleaner fuel while at berth.

The additional funding brings the port's total funding for the At-Berth Clean, or ABC, Fuel program to more than $950,000 for the year.

The ABC Fuel program began in 2009 as a direct outgrowth of the 2007 Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy which was adopted in 2007 by the ports of Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver, British Columbia in partnership with local, state and federal environmental entities in the United States and Canada.

The program offers a $2,250 incentive to each vessel calling at the port, which chooses to use low sulfur fuel in its auxiliary engines while at dock. Emissions from docked vessels' auxiliary engines, according to some estimates, can account for more than 50 percent of a calling vessel's total diesel emissions while in the port. Using low sulfur fuel is estimated to reduce emitted sulfur oxides by up to 80 percent over higher sulfur fuel.

The Seattle port has already paid out the incentive to over 350 vessels this year, and port estimates indicate that another 50 qualifying vessels could claim the incentive by the end of the year.

According to the port, the ABC Fuel program has eliminated more than 340 metric tons of sulfur dioxide emissions since being implemented in 2009.

ABC Fuels is a partnership that includes some of the Port's ocean carriers and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. More than 75 vessels from nine carriers have participated in the program. Participating carriers have included Hapag Lloyd, APL, China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), Evergreen Line, Hamburg Süd, Maersk Line, Matson Navigation, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Princess Cruises.

SoCal Ports Postpone Vote On New Green Goals

The governing boards for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Wednesday postponed a vote that would tighten the goals of the ports' jointly developed environmental programs.

Port officials said the delay was to offer the public more time to review the proposed updates to the ports' Clean Air Action Plan, an omnibus document detailing the two ports' varied programs aimed at reducing ports-generated pollution.

The update to the CAAP has been spurred by the rapid attainment of many of the goals set down when the document was crafted in 2006. One program contained in the CAAP, which targeted truck-generated diesel air pollution, reached the original CAAP emission reduction goals nearly two years ahead of schedule, due in large part to a rapid implementation of a more than $600 million turnover of the current drayage fleet by the trucking industry.

Port officials, who hope to vote on the CAAP update sometime in November, also said that the vote delay would afford the two ports additional time "to clarify the document for industry and other stakeholders." In a statement, the ports specifically mention that staff from the two ports staff plans to sit down with rail industry representatives to discuss the CAAP update's proposed measures on long haul locomotives, possibly to seek an equivalent alternative.

Los Angeles Port: Pollution Programs Working

Environmental programs at the Port of Los Angeles have cut port-generated diesel emissions by double-digit numbers, according to the port's 2009 air emissions inventory released last week.

Diesel particulate matter, most commonly seen as soot in tailpipe emissions, declined 37 percent at port area monitoring stations compared to 2008 levels said the report. Levels of port-generated nitrogen oxide, or NOx, and sulfur oxide, or SOx, also dropped in 2009, down 28 percent and 36 percent respectively.

When compared to the 2005 baseline emissions measurement year, particulate matter has declined 52 percent, NOx emissions were down 33 percent, and SOx emissions declined 56 percent.

Several environmental programs are being pointed to by the port as the reason behind the declines, including: the trucking industry's rapid modernization of the port-servicing fleet; use of low-sulfur fuel by the shipping industry; ship-to-shore power facilities at several terminals; the shipping industry buy in to a voluntary speed reduction program; growing use of alternative fuels in off-road yard equipment and harbor craft; and, a modernization program of the port-servicing railroad's fleet of locomotives.

The major contributor to the pollution reduction, according to the port, has been the Clean Truck Program. Implemented in October 2008, the program utilized access licenses and bans on certain model year trucks to force the local drayage industry to modernize their fleets to 2007 or newer model year vehicles – which in some cases run 90 percent cleaner than the older trucks they replaced.

All of the cited programs are part of the Clean Air Action Plan, an omnibus environmental plan developed and adopted jointly with the neighboring Port of Long Beach in 2006, that set a 45 percent reduction over 2005 pollution levels as a 2012 goal.

Both ports are now considering new 2014 goals for the CAAP, which would reduce particulate matter emissions by 72 percent, NOx emissions by 22 percent, and SOx emissions by 93 percent below 2005 levels. The Port of Long Beach is expected to release its own inventory within the next several weeks. In the past, the two ports inventories have tended to mirror each other in measured results.

ATA Lawsuit Against LA Port Truck Plan in Hands of Judge

The more-than-two-year court battle between the Port of Los Angeles and the American Trucking Associations over details of a port-designed drayage fleet modernization program is now in the hands of a federal judge.

The port and the ATA filed final arguments in the court case Friday following nearly two weeks of testimony in early May before Superior Court Judge Christina Snyder. A final ruling on the case is expected within the next several weeks.

While the port truck plan began in 2007 as an effort to modernize the more than 19,000-vehicle-strong drayage fleet serving both the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports, the ATA has argued that the Los Angeles plan includes components that violate federal interstate commerce laws. While not opposed to the clean-air portions of the truck plan, the ATA sued in late 2007 to stop implementation of the non-environmental aspects of the plan, including a component that would force trucking firms servicing the ports to hire only per-hour employee drivers and bar per-load independent owner-operators which make up more than 80 percent of the local drayage drivers.

The two ports implemented their truck program on October 1, 2008, albeit without the non-environmental components being litigated by the ATA.

At the heart of the ATA lawsuit, which originally included the Port of Long Beach, is whether the two local port authorities have the power to set regulations that supersede federal interstate commerce laws. Long Beach port officials, which never included the employee-only mandate in their version of the truck plan, eventually modified their plan to remove most of the non-environmental components and reached a court-approved settlement with the ATA to be removed from the lawsuit.

The ATA, which represents more than 37,000 trucking firms nationwide, eventually won a court injunction against the Los Angeles truck program that blocked most of the non-environmental components from being implemented.

Since the implementation of the truck program, which used a progressive ban on older trucks which removed the majority of the gross-polluters from the local drayage fleet, both ports claim that the environmental goals of the program – a nearly 80 percent drop in diesel truck emissions – are on track to be met well ahead of schedule.

Los Angeles official want Judge Snyder to allow full implementation of its truck plan, including the non-environmental components, while the ATA is seeking to have the non-environmental components permanently enjoined.

ATA vs. Los Angeles Port Clean Truck Plan Heads to Court

Testimony begins Tuesday before a United States District Court judge in Los Angeles in the American Trucking Association’s lawsuit challenging an access license component of the Port of Los Angeles Clean Truck Program.

The court proceedings before District Court Judge Christina Snyder, which are expected to last at least through the end of this week, are likely to focus on the issue of federal preemption – whether local entities such as the port can create and enforce regulations that supersede federal regulations.

The case centers around the port truck scheme that took effect in October 2008 requiring port-servicing drayage firms to sign so-called concession agreements to gain access to port terminals. Firms without such an access license are barred from entering port facilities. The plan was originally conceived by the port as a means to bar older polluting trucks and force drayage firms to use newer and cleaner burning vehicles, thereby cutting port-generated diesel emissions.

To obtain an access license, drayage firms must agree to a long list of port-defined criteria contained in the concession agreements. These include financial, maintenance, insurance, safety, parking and labor criteria.

Shortly before the port program began implementation, the ATA filed suit against the port claiming, among other things, that the concession agreements violated federal interstate commerce laws. The ATA, which did not oppose the environmental aspects of the truck plan – such as progressive bans on older model year trucks – also sought an injunction against the concession agreements.

After an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Snyder issued an injunction against certain criteria contained within the concession agreements, while allowing the port to implement other aspects such as requiring drivers to have federal transportation worker identification.

These injuncted criteria included a contentious requirement that drayage firms must phase out per-load independent owner-operators in favor of per-hour employee drivers by 2013. At the start of the truck program, more than 80 percent of the drayage fleet drivers were independent owner-operators.

The ATA argues that local entities such as the port are prevented by federal deregulation legislation from passing regulations that affect "routes, rates and services" of interstate trucking. Under federal law, the ATA argues, these local regulations are pre-empted by federal interstate commerce laws. Previous court cases have determined that containers, regardless of destination, fall within the bounds of interstate commerce.

The ports have argued that safety and security exemptions provided for within the federal pre-emption language allow the ports to set regulations determining who can and cannot enter the ports.

Since the truck program began, two bans on certain model year trucks have been imposed, with only 2003 or newer model year trucks now able to enter the port. A final ban set to take effect at the end of this year will ban all but 2007 and newer trucks from the port.

Spurred by the bans, the trucking industry and local drivers have put more than 6,000 cleaner-burning 2007 or newer model year trucks into the local drayage fleet. According to port emission monitoring, port-generated diesel emissions have been cut by 70 percent since 2006, which is used as a baseline by the port for air quality.

Supporters of the truck scheme's employee mandate, including the International Brotherhood of Teamsters which originally proposed the employee-only mandate to the port, also argue that only per-hour employee drivers can afford to maintain the newer trucks – which cost more than $100,000 and can require thousands of dollars per year to maintain. The employee-only mandate would also allow the Teamsters to fulfill a decades-old national goal of unionizing port drivers. Independent owner-operators are currently prohibited from unionizing under federal law.

Once deliberations are complete in the current case, District Court Judge Christina Snyder could rule immediately or take the matter under consideration and issue a ruling some time in the future. She could ban the concession agreement scheme in its entirety, rule that concession agreements are legal, or rule, as in the injunction case, that only portions of the concession agreements are illegal.

Regardless of the outcome, the case is certain to set a precedent that will be utilized at other ports around the nation, either as a guide to implement identical plans to Los Angeles' or to offer guideposts on how to implement a truck program without facing litigation from the trucking industry.