Goal of New Port Programs is Better Air Quality

"My name is Daniel Ortiz," began the man testifying on June 10 before the NY City Council Waterfronts Committee. The room was quiet. "I've been a truck driver at the ports for nine years."

Mr. Ortiz delivered his testimony to a standing-room only crowd mainly composed of representatives from the shipping industry and city and state agencies. They had gathered at the request of committee chair Michael Nelson to discuss the "greening" of the port, and to tout their very worthy emissions-reduction programs. Mr. Ortiz's testimony, however, put a human face on what can sometimes turn into a litany of statistics.

"I've seen a lot of change for the truckers - for the worse," Mr. Ortiz told the policy-makers. "Most of us are no longer employees, but we are instead independent contractors and we must carry the cost of owning our trucks and taking care of them. It is difficult financially for me and other port drivers to earn a living, pay for all the costs of a truck and take care of our families. But the money isn't the only problem. I sit behind the wheel of my truck for 90 hours a week sometimes and I breathe the diesel fumes all the time. I want to drive a clean truck because it affects me and my family. The pollution also affects my community where I live. Newark is very close to a lot of ports and I know that my truck isn't good for the air that my neighbors breathe."

Earlier in the hearing, Rick Larrabee, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Director of Port Commerce Development, had described the bi-state agency's recently introduced Clean Air Strategy. One of the PA's strategies emulates the new Clean Trucks program in Los Angeles that banned thousands of high-emission trucks at the port; in the last year airborne particulate matter at the LA port was reduced by 70%. The NY/NJ version -- a combined grant/low-interest loan plan called the Truck Replacement Program -- is meant to help phase out hundreds of the oldest diesel trucks serving local port facilities with newer reduced-emissions models.

The problem, according to Mr. Ortiz and others at the hearing such as Paul Karr and Christina Montorio from the Coalition for Healthy Ports, is that the NY/NJ program places the financial burden of obtaining new trucks on individuals such as Mr. Ortiz whereas the LA program targets trucking companies. "Even with the grants and subsidies, these owner-operators can not afford new trucks," said Professor David Bensman, of Rutgers University, who also testified at the City Council hearing. "The reason is simple; new trucks cost too much. Owner operators are forced to drive for rates that are too low to pay for modern, efficient diesel engines. They are not credit worthy to take on leases of $75,000 or more."

In LA, the trucking industry is fighting back and has filed a lawsuit to block the provision that requires companies to bear the cost of complying with environmental regulations rather than individual drivers. Countering the industry and supporting the drivers is an alliance of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and environmental groups.

Monitoring the legal uncertainty in Los Angeles, ports around the country are hesitant to implement sweeping emissions-reduction programs. Trying to move the process forward, Congressman Jerrold Nadler has proposed an update of federal legislation that would allow ports to enforce Clean Trucks programs and protect individual truckers. More than 100 organizations across the country have signed on to Rep. Nadler's proposal as well as 78 members of the House of Representatives. Click here to see of short video of Rep. Nadler discussing the LA Clean Trucks program and its implications for the nation.

Amy Traub, Director of Research at the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, a non-partisan think tank based in NYC, was one of several people testifying who asked for the City Council's support of Rep. Nadler's legislation. "The federal law must be updated so that it's not the taxpayer or the truckers who pay for environmental upgrades but companies that profit most from the operation of our ports," she said.

Roland Lewis, president of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, was another. "We applaud the Port Authority's and City of New York's goals but we encourage them to reach the level of abatement that our colleagues in LA have aggressively taken on," he said. "MWA strongly supports Congressmen Nadler's effort to pass federal legislation to allow the Port Authority to develop a comprehensive program like the LA program."

Also testifying in support of the federal legislation was Rich Kassel, Senior Attorney and Director, Clean Fuels and Vehicles Project, for the NYC branch of the National Resources Defense Council.

Aside from the Truck Replacement program, Mr. Larrabee described other Clean Air strategies from the Port Authority. Next month, in one incentive program, owners of ocean-going vessels, which now mainly use high sulfur "bunker" fuel, will begin to be reimbursed for up to 50% of the cost differential between low sulfur fuel and high sulfur fuel. Burning bunker fuel creates the port's single largest source of air pollution.

All three photos courtesy of the Port Authority.
Bottom two photos taken at Howland Hook Marine Terminal.

Mr. Larrabee described another program that will reimburse companies 20% of the cost of replacing cargo handling equipment with new reduced-emissions equipment. And, when the PA's ExpressRail completes construction in 2011, the on-dock rail network will be able to handle 1.5 million containers every year, which translates to 2.5 million fewer truck trips annually on local roadways.

Other city and state agencies work to decrease port emissions.

• The City Dept. of Environmental Protection and Economic Development Corporation (EDC) are working with the Port Authority, the NY State Power Authority and Carnival Cruise Lines to make electric power available to ships docked at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Known as "cold ironing," this will allow ships to turn off their engines while docked.
• The Dept. of Transportation is retrofitting the Staten Island ferry fleet with cleaner fuel-burning engines. Four ferries are retrofitted, with four to go.
• EDC now requires waterfront tenants to use low-emission vehicles. A star tenant is Phoenix Beverages, at Pier 11 in Brooklyn. "By inducing ships with large volumes of New York City-bound containers to call at Red Hook, by pursuing a cleaner truck fleet, by recycling its own waste, and by generating its own power, Phoenix Beverages has brought a new paradigm in freight logistics to New York," said Andrew Genn, EDC Vice President in his testimony to the Waterfronts Committee.

Mr. Genn went on to describe future federal emissions rules for which the City is preparing. "Marine fuel is among the dirtiest used in the United States and port activities do have an environmental impact," he told the committee. "Our goal is to work with our partners in government to reduce emissions from the ships and trucks that use our ports. Due to the complex regulatory structure governing the port, much of this effort can be accomplished only in collaboration with our colleagues at the Port Authority and at the EPA. In 2015, EPA will introduce new Emissions Control Area requirements that will reduce the sulfur content of marine fuels. In the meantime, NYCEDC is working with the harbor craft industry and ferry community to introduce these lighter fuels ahead of the regulations."

On June 23, the MWA's Working Waterfront Task Force convened to discuss port emissions and other pressing matters. Eddie Bautista, Executive Director of the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance reminded task force members that Significant Maritime and Industrial Areas (click here for a listing of the City's SMIAs) have some of the highest unemployment rates and asthma rates. The expansion of maritime delivery centers, he said, must be balanced by mitigating the problems caused by more trucking. Trucks must be retrofitted or exchanged for new trucks, he insisted, to lessen the consequences for residents who live near transportation nodes.