The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the Port of Baltimore $1.8 million in Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) funds to replace older diesel-powered equipment with newer, cleaner versions.
The grant will cover about 44 dray trucks, commonly used for transporting shipping containers to and from the Port, and four pieces of cargo-handling equipment such as forklifts, yard tractors and other heavy cargo machinery.
It is estimated that the replacement equipment acquired for the Port through the DERA grant will result in a lifetime reduction of emissions output of about 14 tons of particulate matter, 290 tons of nitrogen oxides, 96 tons of carbon monoxide and 15 tons of hydrocarbons.
This EPA grant will help us continue cleaning the air around the Port of Baltimore. Working with our federal partners, the Port is showing how to be a responsible steward of the environment and, at the same time, break cargo records, grow business and expand jobs for Marylanders,
…said Governor Larry Hogan.
EPA awarded the fund through its national Clean Diesel Program, which recognizes ports and partners for achieving goals that reduce air pollution.
This follows another similar EPA grant of $2.4 million to the Port to repower marine engines and upgrade equipment that is used to move cargo to reduce emissions at the port.
The federal grant complements the Port’s own Diesel Equipment Upgrade Program which also focuses on replacement or retrofit of older equipment with newer and more emission-efficient technology.
Since launching the program in 2008, the Port has replaced more than 200 dray trucks and 110 pieces of cargo-handling equipment, repowered 10 marine engines and retrofitted 16 locomotive engines.
Overall, those upgrades have resulted in reductions of 3,304 tons of nitrogen oxide, 922 tons of carbon monoxide, 165 tons of particulate matter and 141 tons of hydrocarbons.
Through initiatives like our Diesel Equipment Upgrade Program and EPA’s Clean Diesel Program, we have reduced pollutants in the air around the Port by more than 10,000 tons in the past 12 years,
…said David Thomas, acting executive director of the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Port Administration (MDOT MPA).
The Port of Baltimore ranks 11th among major US ports for cargo handled and ninth nationally for total cargo value.
The Port is responsible for nearly $3.3 billion in personal wages and salaries, $2.6 billion in business revenues and $395 million in state and local tax revenues.
