Page 9 - Port of Baltimore Magazine July August 2011

To subscribe or renew, visitwww.marylandports.com July/August 2011 ■ The Port of Baltimore [7]
governor’s Message
Private Terminals a Big Part of Port’s Success
There are many privately owned marine terminals at the
Port of Baltimore that handle a wide array of commodities
and contribute to the Port’s overall success. In this issue
of Port of Baltimore magazine, we focus on two of these
private terminals: Rukert Terminals Corporation and CNX.
Our relationship with Rukert goes back decades. Long before
the Maryland Port Administration was created, Rukert was already
a mover and shaker in Baltimore’s maritime community. Over the
years, Rukert has carved out an impressive portfolio of business that
includes bulk commodities like metals, ores and fertilizers. However,
Rukert is probably best known for supplying Maryland and some of
our neighboring states with road salt during the winter months —
and there has been a strong need for that the last couple of years!
In the coal story, you will read about CNX as one of our two main
coal terminals. Through a management structure that places great
importance on workplace safety, CNX has been right in the middle
of a tremendous coal export boom. Today, a lot of the coal exported
from CNX is heading to China as that country continues to build
infrastructure and grow.
We are very fortunate at the Port of Baltimore to have the type of
quality working relationship that we do between the public marine
terminals managed by the Maryland Port Administration and the
private terminals. At many other U.S. ports there remains strained
relationships between public and private terminals.
That is not the case here. The Port Administration regularly
markets opportunities at Baltimore’s private terminals. We also
communicate frequently on various maritime business, security and
environmental issues with our private counterparts. The Baltimore
Port Alliance, which is comprised of port officials from both public
and private terminals, is a group that meets on a regular basis to
discuss key topics that pertain to our port. It provides an excellent
forum for open communication.
The success of private terminals like Rukert and CNX further
gives credence to the Port of Baltimore as a port of tremendous
diversity. All of us, public and private, have contributed to the Port
being ranked among the 15 best ports in the nation for the amount
of cargo handled and the dollar value of that cargo. With all of us
working together, we are truly ONE Port of Baltimore.
James J. White, Executive Director
Port’s Dredge Program Helps Chesapeake Bay
Last month I announced that Maryland is 98 percent of
the way toward meeting our first short-term milestone set
by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2009
for restoring the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Through
its Dredged Material Management Program, the Maryland Port
Administration (MPA) is a key partner in helping us restore the Bay.
Working with the EPA, our state is working to reduce the amount
of nitrogen and phosphorous being released into the Bay and its
tributaries. The Port Administration’s new Masonville dredge
containment site is the first dredge site to fall under these new
nutrient requirements, as specified by the Maryland Department
of the Environment. Currently, release water from the site is being
monitored and investigated by the MPA. The MPA will implement ways
to minimize, eliminate or offset any nutrients released from the site
into the Patapsco River. The MPA will also initiate nutrient reduction
practices at its other dredged material containment locations.
The Port Administration’s dredging program has been
internationally recognized as one of the best in the world. By using
dredged material from our shipping channels to rebuild and enhance
islands in the Bay’s watershed that have been diminished by years
of erosion, the MPA has become the largest creator of wetlands
in Maryland. The dredging program benefits from the input and
involvement of citizens, scientific experts, and state and federal
regulatory agencies.
These islands today have become more than just new land
masses. They have become new homes for birds and other wildlife.
At Hart-Miller Island in Baltimore County, the 1,140-acre site includes
nearly 300 species of birds, which at times create the largest single
concentration of waterfowl in the Mid-Atlantic. Poplar Island in
Talbot County counts nearly 190 different bird species, including
eagles, herons and pelicans.
A healthy Bay is vital to the well-being of our people, our
environment, our economy and all of our living resources. Together
with the MPA, we can better ensure the Bay’s long-term future for
generations to come.
Martin O’Malley, Governor
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