Page 14 - Port of Baltimore Magazine January/February 2016

[12] The Port of Baltimore ■ January/February 2017
GreenPort
Environmental Stewardship at the Port of Baltimore BY NANCY MENEFEE JACKSON
Tour Group Learns about
the Port’s Air-Quality Initiatives
The Baltimore Port Alliance hosted a Stakeholder Tour last November, giving community groups, nonprofit organizations and contributors a chance to see the Port of Baltimore and learn more about its initiatives to improve air quality.
The Port has been a leader in implementing programs to reduce air emissions. Its Mid-Atlantic Dray Truck Replacement Program, for example, has helped truckers replace aging, polluting trucks with newer clean-diesel models.
In October, the U.S. Environ- mental Protection Agency awarded a $978,302 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grant to the Maryland Environmental Service
to upgrade diesel cargo-handling equipment, which is used to move cargo at the Port. The project will reduce pollutants, which may impact communities near the Port, and improve fuel efficiency.
“The Port is not just against the waterside,” said Rupert Denny, co-chair of the BPA’s environmental committee. “It encompasses an enormous amount of land inside of the Beltway and is involved with trucking, warehousing and related industries.”
The November tour spotlighted improvements in air quality. Participants enjoyed a chance
to see the Seagirt, Dundalk
and Rukert marine terminals.
When the debris was cleared and the land remediated, the Port created a waterfront park that allowed the community access to the water for the first time in years.
Organizations represented on the tour included the Environmental Defense Fund, Catholic Charities, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Abell Foundation.
“This is the second tour we’ve done for funders, nonprofits and communities who were interested in air quality throughout the region,” Denny said. “We were very grateful by the interest they took in the Port
of Baltimore and what we are doing around the Port.”
Those on the tour had the opportunity to see a working marine terminal up close. One of the challenges the Port faces, due to safety and security concerns, is that it’s largely inaccessible to the public.
“I’ve been on a couple of these tours now, and I think the Port does a great job of giving both context and visuals on the work that the
BILL MCALLEN