Basic HTML Version
[
12
]
The Port of Baltimore
July/August 201 2
To subscribe or renew, visit
Environmental Stewardship at the Port of Baltimore
>
>
>
Green
Port
BY NANCY MENEFEE JACKSON
O
wner-operator James Wommack
knew his 1990 Kenworth truck with a
Caterpillar engine wasn’t anywhere
near as fuel-efficient as newer trucks.
“It burned a lot of fuel, and it was
a pollution hog,” he said. Wommack,
who works for Farruggio’s Express Inc.,
was concerned as his truck idled while
picking up loads at the Port of Baltimore.
An avid fisherman working part time
in sport fish advisory for the Maryland
Department of Natural Resources, he
was well aware of the effects of airborne
pollutants on the Chesapeake Bay. “We
idle a lot at the Port, and we’re right there
on the water,” he said.
When he heard truckers talking about
a program to replace dray trucks, he
went online to research it. He found the
Mid-Atlantic Dray Truck Replacement
Program, which helps short-haul dray
truck owners and operators working
at the Port of Baltimore replace older
models with newer, cleaner-running
trucks. Now, he’s the proud owner of a
much more fuel-efficient, cleaner truck.
Funded by a grant from the
Environmental Protection Agency and the
Maryland Port Administration (MPA), the
program offers up to $20,000 per vehicle
to qualifying owners and operators.
MPA Deputy Executive Director M.
Kathleen Broadwater noted that the MPA
is “committed to the continuous improve-
ment of air emissions at the Port, and
the Dray Truck Replacement Program is
an important continuation of our Clean
Diesel Program of the last few years.”
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Air
Management Association (MARAMA) and
the University of Maryland Environmental
Finance Center administer the program.
“This is an important program
because diesel engines are such good
engines that they last 20 or 30 years, but
newer ones do the same job with much
less pollution,” said Susan Wierman,
Executive Director of MARAMA. “There
have been a lot of changes in the last 10
years, and it’s amazing how much cleaner
diesel engines are. This gives truckers
an incentive to replace those engines.
We’re really pleased at how supportive a
partner the Port has been in this; the Port
gave us a grant to do another 15 trucks.”
Wierman adds that the program
benefits communities around the Port.
“Scientists have concluded that traffic-
related air pollution can exacerbate
asthma and may contribute to other heart-
and lung-related health effects,” she
said. “Exhaust from older diesel vehicles
is an important factor in traffic-related air
pollution. Exhaust from new technology
diesel engines using clean diesel fuel
produces 90 percent less pollution.”
Applications for participation in the
program are judged on certain criteria,
including the age of the truck and
the number of trips it takes to and
from the Port. The vehicles that are
being replaced must be scrapped so
that they do not remain in service,
and the replacement trucks cannot
have engines older than 2007.
Wierman knows it’s not easy for truck
owners to do the paperwork and scrap
their old truck. “We want to get these
trucks completely off the road, but once
they take that truck off the road, they
need their new truck right away. They
need to line up financing so there won’t
be any delay. We’re really pleased we’ve
had a good response here in Baltimore.”
Under the terms of the program,
Wommack had to scrap his old truck but
was able to use the $20,000 as a down
payment on his new truck. “It’s a great
start, especially in a sluggish economy, to
Out with the Old,
In with the New
Dray Truck Program Delivers Environmental Rewards
COURTESY OF FARRUGGIO’S EXPRESS INC.
