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Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles honored in EPA's Eighth Annual Clean Air Excellence Awards

Release Date: 05/28/2008
Contact Information: Margot Perez-Sullivan, (415) 947-4149, [email protected]

(Washington, D.C. - May 28, 2008) What do two California ports, a company that produced the first diesel electric hybrid tugboat, and a university in Georgia have in common? All are dedicated to excellence in achieving clean air, and tonight they are among the 11 winners of the eighth annual Clean Air Excellence Awards. This year’s award winners will be recognized by EPA for their outstanding accomplishments in improving air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

“This year’s Clean Air Excellence Award winners’ dedication to creating a cleaner tomorrow is truly a breath of fresh air,” said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. “From local to state governments, companies to citizen groups, these award-winners are helping EPA deliver healthier air and healthier lives to all Americans.”

The Clean Air Excellence Awards recognize and honor outstanding, innovative efforts that make progress in achieving cleaner air. The Awards were established in 2000, at the recommendation of the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC), a senior-level policy group that advises EPA on implementing the Clean Air Act.

There are four categories of awards: clean air technology, community action, education/outreach, and regulatory policy innovations, with one additional special award for individual achievement.

This year’s Southern California winner is for regulatory policy innovations at the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles. The ports developed the five-year San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan that outlines strategies to reduce air emissions and associated health risks from port-related sources.

This joint venture was created to: 1) set goals at the San Pedro ports, including project specific standards and source specific performance standards; 2) implement strategies to reach these goals; 3) create a Technology Advancement Program (TAP); and 4) track and monitor emissions from the Ports.

The ultimate goal is to reduce emissions and associated health risks from heavy-duty vehicles, oceangoing vessels, cargo-handling equipment, harbor craft, and railroad locomotives involved in port operations. Both Ports now have berths equipped with shore-power and have committed $10 million to replace all Pacific Harbor Line locomotives, with cleaner units, by 2008. The Ports also established the Voluntary Speed Reduction Program in which vessels slow to 12 knots when they are within 20 nautical miles of Point Fermin, which reduces NOx and PM emissions. Both Ports are also moving forward with a Clean Trucks Program which requires that all trucks calling at the Ports meet the 2007 on-road standard by 2012. Finally, the TAP focuses on identifying, evaluating, and demonstrating new and emerging emission reduction technologies applicable to the port industry.

The San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan will be tracked through annual emissions inventories that are developed in cooperation with the air quality regulatory agencies. The plan will serve as a model for other ports to follow in future years.

For a complete list of this year’s winners nationwide, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/air/caaac/recipients.html