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ThePort of Baltimore
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March/April 2014
Environmental Stewardshipat thePort of Baltimore
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Green
Port
BY TODD KARPOVICH
BILLMCALLEN
MPA Installs
Cutting-
EdgeFiltration
Devices at
DundalkMarineTerminal
T
heMarylandPort Administration (MPA) installed its first
underground stormwater filtrationdevice last year as
part of its efforts to improvewater quality andprotect
local waterways.
APerk Filter™was installed in a stormdrain inlet at the
DundalkMarine Terminal as a stormwater retrofit inOctober
2013. The filter is designed to treat impervious surfaces, by
which a variety of contaminants can enter stormwater and
eventually reachdownstreamwaterways.
ThePerk Filter™ is a filtrationdevice that treats stormwater
by removing80percent of total suspended solids and40
percent of total phosphorus. This innovative technology is
also approved to retain oil,metals and trash fromdischarged
stormwater.
TheMPAwill inspect andmaintain the structure annually
with cleaning and replacing the filters. TheMPA is also
continuing to look at other locations at the port to retrofit with
filtration technologies tohelp improve theBaltimoreHarbor
water quality.
ForcesCome
Together to
CleanUp
Rock
Creek
T
heBaltimorePort Alliance (BPA)
partneredwith theAnneArundel
County-basedRestoreRock
Creekwatershed organization and local
community associations for a stream
cleanup event in earlyApril along the
shores of RockCreek inPasadena.
Volunteers removed trash anddebriswhich
might otherwise have found itsway into
thePatapscoRiver and theChesapeake
Bay.
Thismarked the sixth year in a row
that theBPAhas partneredwith a local
organization for a community-based
cleanup effort.
“TheBaltimore Port Allianceworks hard
at communicating the contribution the
Port of Baltimore provides for the regional
economy,” saidCapt.MikeReagoso, BPA
Environmental CommitteeChair. “Our
members are engaged onmultiple levels
at reducing the impact of Port-related
operations tonearby communities.”
The cleanupwas also a joint effort
with theAlliance for theChesapeakeBay-
Project CleanStream.