Page 24 - Port of Baltimore March April 2013
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The Port of Baltimore
■
March/April 2013
M
oving mammoth cargo
— or just mammoth
amounts of cargo —
requires diesel engines.
But the MPA has been
finding ways to reduce, and when possible
eliminate, their emissions. All of the MPA’s
equipment burns low-sulfur fuel; since
2009, 79 pieces have been retrofitted,
repowered or replaced through the
MPA’s
Clean Diesel Program
. The program saves
33,818 gallons of fuel annually, which
reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 375
tons a year.
Non-MPA vehicles have posed a
significant challenge, particularly older dray
trucks used for short hauls. The exhaust
from older diesel engines is an important
factor in traffic-related air pollution, while
the newer clean-diesel engines reduce
pollutants by 90 percent. But the dray
trucks’ owners couldn’t afford to replace
them.
The MPA teamed with the Mid Atlantic
Regional Air Management Association
to offer the
Mid-Atlantic Dray Truck
Replacement Program
. The program is
funded by a U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency SmartWay Innovative Finance Grant
with matching funds from the MPA and
Maryland Department of the Environment.
Qualifying truckers received grants of up
to $20,000 to buy a truck with a 2007 or
newer engine. In return, they agreed to
scrap their old trucks so that they won’t
continue to pollute. The program replaces
an average of three trucks a month, a
win-win that reduces fuel costs for truckers
while reducing pollutants in the air for
everyone.
“The MPA is committed to the
continuous improvement of air emissions
at the Port, and the Dray Truck Replacement
Program is an important continuation of our
Clean Diesel Program of the last few years,”
said M. Kathleen Broadwater, MPA Deputy
Executive Director.
Throughout 2012, the MPA used several
cleaner-running pieces of key equipment,
such as a hybrid-powered aerial lift; a street
sweeper equipped with a clean diesel
ByAir
On the Horizon
The
MID-ATLANTIC DRAY
TRUCK REPLACEMENT
PROGRAM
hopes to continue
through the end of 2013 and
possibly into mid-2014.
Advances in fuel technology
will further the development of
engines with fewer emissions.
