Page 12 - Port of Baltimroe Magazine - Jan Feb 2012
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The Port of Baltimore
■
January/February 2012
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GREEN
PORT
WETLAND
in
the
WORKS
at
Masonville Cove
V
olunteers recently spent three
days digging in the sandy soil at
Masonville Cove, the Maryland Port
Administration (MPA) dredged materials
containment facility. They planted 2,100
shrubs to help create a two-acre wetland.
Masonville Cove began receiving
dredged materials in 2010, and the MPA
has partnered with several organizations to
restore the shoreline and its ecosystem.
The National Aquarium, Baltimore
organized 135 youth and adult volunteers
who took up trowels and shovels from
Sept. 29 to Oct. 1. The Canton Kayak Club
sent 12 volunteers, who paddled to the
site. Groups came from W.R. Grace, Curtis
Bay Elementary/Middle School, Maree G.
Farring Elementary/Middle School and
Benjamin Franklin High School.
More plantings are in the works for the
area along the outside slope of the dike.
This spring, grasses will be added to the
wetland, which, when finished, will provide
critical wildlife habitat.
“The creation of this wetland is greatly
beneficial to the harbor area because it
increased the wildlife habitat within the
city,” said the Aquarium’s conservation
director, Laura Bankey. “The nearby Fort
McHenry wetland has had over 200 bird
species documented there over the years,
which demonstrates that
wildlife can and does exist
within highly urbanized
areas.”
Masonville Cove, a
141-acre tract of old
industrial land that
contains contaminants, will
be capped, and, with the
help of dredged materials,
the shoreline will be
restored. Eventually, the
site will have a pier that can
accommodate groups such
as the Living Classroom
Foundation.
appropriate, we purchase.”
The MPA recently purchased a hybrid
2011 aerial lift truck that pairs a 2011
International cab and chassis with an
Altec 206-TA45M telescopic articulating
aerial lift. The truck features a hybrid unit
powered by an Eaton Fuller EH-8E406A-UP
six-speed automatic hybrid drive unit.
Backup power is supplied by a Maxxforce
DT230 diesel-powered engine that meets
all current U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) diesel emission regulations.
And the Port uses ultra-low sulfur
biodiesel to fuel all of its diesel engines.
Another recent acquisition, a 2011
Elgin Broom Bear four-wheel mechani-
cal sweeper with a Freightliner M2106
business class cab and chassis, uses a
Cummins diesel-powered engine, which is
a certified clean-idle engine.
It’s a double win for the environment,
since this sweeper operates at a higher
efficiency while reducing the trash, debris
The MPA’s “Big Red” crane
has a repowered engine that
significantly reduces smog-
creating emissions.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF MPA
