Bamboo grasses sprouting from giant concrete boxes that stretch the length of two football fields are helping to remove pollutants from the stormwater runoff at the Port of Tacoma’s West Hylebos Log Yard.
The Seattle and Tacoma port commissions plan to unify the management of the two ports’ marine cargo terminals and related functions under a single Seaport Alliance in order to strengthen the Puget Sound gateway and attract more marine cargo for the region.
Marine cargo operations at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma supported more than 48,000 jobs in 2013, which generated nearly $4.3 billion in economic activity, according to a study commissioned jointly by the two ports.
The Port of Tacoma, for the second year in a row, ranked highest among West Coast ports for ease of doing business in Logistics Management’s 2014 Quest for Quality awards. Tacoma also placed highest in the value category.
A jury sided with the Port of Tacoma Wednesday, awarding the Port $8 million in damages suffered because of actions by Thurston County to delay a gravel mining permit on a Maytown site owned by the Port.