Page 16 - Port of Baltimore Sept/Oct 2011

[14] The Port of Baltimore ■ September/October 2011 To subscribe or renew, visitwww.marylandports.com
GREENPORT
Barge-based Ballast
Water Testing
Platform Dedicated
Anew mobile ballast water-testing
platform, built on a barge and
based in the Chesapeake Bay, was
dedicated on September 27 at Pier 6 in
Baltimore’s Inner Harbor area. U.S. Rep.
Elijah Cummings was the keynote speaker.
The Maryland Port Administration
(MPA) and U.S. Maritime Administration
have partially funded the Maritime
Environmental Resource Center, which
has been testing ballast water treatment
systems and other Green Ship innovations
for the past three years. The $2.7 million,
barge-based research and testing facility
is part of an effort to prevent the spread of
invasive aquatic species into the Bay and
waters around the world. Look for complete
event coverage in the next issue of the
magazine.
Program Helps Dray Drivers Trade Up
Anew program is helping short-haul truckers replace outdated, less-
fuel-efficient trucks with newer ones as part of an effort to improve the
region’s air quality.
Using more than $3 million in federal funds, the program — a cooperative
effort by the University of Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Air
Management Association — is targeting short-haul or “dray” truckers who
serve Baltimore and three other East Coast ports. Owners of trucks built
before 2003 are eligible for up to $20,000 in grants to help them buy a newer
truck with a cleaner engine. Trucks with older engines, such as those built in
the 1990s, will receive preference.
The old trucks must be scrapped, but the scrap price will be applied to the
purchase of the new truck.
“This program is an investment in small business because it gives owner-
operators incentives to grow their business in a more environmentally
sustainable way,” said Joanne Throwe, Director of the University of Maryland
Environmental Finance Center.
About 3,000 trucks serve the Port of Baltimore every day.
“This program supports three interdependent entities,” Throwe says. “It
seeks to support the transportation sector by making sure that truckers have
updated trucks and can reliably serve the ports; it seeks to support truckers
by providing an incentive to purchase a greener truck; and it seeks to support
the environment by retiring old, dirty trucks sooner and making tangible air
quality improvements.”