Reducing Diesel Emissions by 50 Percent:
EPA and Clean Air Agency Fund Port Effort

The Port of Tacoma Commission today was presented with a Certificate of Recognition by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) "for environmental leadership in reducing diesel emissions and improving public health."

More significantly, the EPA recognition was accompanied by a grant to fund the retrofit of the Port's straddle carrier fleet. The $75,000 EPA grant has been supplemented with up to $40,000 from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency to retrofit the Port's fleet of 30 straddle carriers with diesel oxidation catalysts.

Bryon Boerner, the Port's Manager of Electronics Technology, explained that the catalysts – combined with the Port of Tacoma Commission's 2004 decision that requires the use of ultra-low sulfur diesel on Port-operated equipment when possible – will reduce straddle carrier particulate emissions by up to 50 percent.

Standing 41 feet tall, weighing 136,000 pounds and powered by two turbo-charged electronic diesel engines, straddle carriers are used to transport containers from dock to rail – where they "straddle" rail cars.

According to R. Ted Bottiger, President of the Port Commission, the Port of Tacoma has invested more than $150 million in environmental programs over the past two decades. "In addition to cleaning the environment in and around Commencement Bay and creating new wildlife habitat, we are also focused on reducing the impact of Port operations on our region's air quality," he said.

"I am pleased that the EPA is supporting the Port of Tacoma's efforts to reduce diesel emissions," said U.S.Senator Maria Cantwell. "This is a big step toward improving public health and protecting the environment while maintaining Tacoma's vibrant role in Washington's trade economy. The Port's leadership and stewardship of Commencement Bay is another example of why it was recently recognized as 'America’s top seaport.'"

Unlike Southern California, where efforts are focused on the reduction of nitrogen oxides (NOx), efforts to improve air quality in the Puget Sound region focus on reducing diesel particulates, says Dennis McLerran, Executive Director of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.

Throughout the region, industry is striving to reduce these diesel particulates, said Bill Evans, a City of Tacoma Councilmember and Chair of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. "The Port of Tacoma joins many other agencies around the region, including others in Tacoma and Pierce County, who are retrofitting diesel trucks and buses to further protect air quality," he said.

Evans joined U.S. Senator Patty Murray, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Congressman Norm Dicks, Congressman Adam Smith, former Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn, Pierce County Executive John W. Ladenburg and City of Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma in writing letters to the EPA in support of the Port’s grant. “It is gratifying that our elected officials share a common goal of improving the air quality of our region, making Tacoma a great place to live and work,” said Timothy J. Farrell, the Port’s Executive Director.

Ladenburg added, “The Port of Tacoma is busy providing jobs for our region, and goods and services to our nation. It's a remarkable achievement to also be a good steward of the environment by reducing diesel emissions, which are big contributors to both fine particle pollution and air toxics concerns in our region. This is a very important piece of work by the Port of Tacoma to reduce these emissions.”

The Port of Tacoma is also a partner in the West Coast Collaborative, which works to implement regional diesel emission reduction projects.