The Clean Truck Program has proven successful in improving area air quality BOSTON – The Massachusetts Port Authority’s (Massport) Paul W. Conley Container Terminal received a 2015 Breathe Easy Leadership Award for making significant contributions to reducing diesel emissions and promoting clean transportation in the Northeast. The award was given to Conley Terminal by the Northeast Diesel Collaborative (NEDC)—a cooperative consisting of state environmental agencies, the regional Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and private sector companies—with the objective of reducing diesel emissions, improving public health, and promoting clean diesel technology. “One of our priorities is to be a good neighbor to the communities that surround Massport properties, namely Conley Container Terminal,” said Massport CEO Thomas P. Glynn. “We have a responsibility to both these communities and the environment while we support a thriving shipping terminal and we will continue to do all we can for cleaner air now and cleaner air in the future.” The award is given to individuals and organizations whose efforts best reflect the NEDC’s goals and have taken steps to reduce diesel emissions beyond what is required by law. Some of these include the promotion of alternative fuel use like biodiesel and natural gas, retrofitting and upgrading existing or replacing and retiring diesel engines and vehicles, reducing idling, reducing emissions from diesel exhaust, creating new partnerships and programs to reduce emissions, and educating the public and policymakers about the importance of and strategies for reducing diesel emissions. In 2011, Massport received a $500,000 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Grant to replace 20 older drayage trucks that routinely service Conley Terminal with trucks that met or exceeded the EPA 2007 heavy duty diesel emission standards. Massport’s Maritime Department successfully petitioned its board for an additional $1M for their Clean Truck Program. This additional funding allowed for 40 more drayage trucks that service Conley Terminal to be replaced by trucks with cleaner diesel engines. To date, the program has replaced the initial 20 trucks funded by the EPA’s DERA Grant as well as 20 additional trucks funded by Massport directly. As a result, nitrogen oxides have been reduced 28.7 tons per year, annual particulate matter has been reduced by 1.4 tons, hydrocarbons have been reduced by 1.2 tons annually, and carbon monoxide has been reduced by 8.51 tons per year. Through the implementation of the Clean Truck Program, Massport has not only helped to significantly improve air quality at the shipping terminal, but also in the parks and neighborhoods in the South Boston community. “Massport continues to work to make significant reductions in diesel engine-related air emissions in South Boston and to reduce the environmental impacts of operations at Conley Terminal,” said Massport Acting Port Director Lisa Wieland. “The Clean Truck Program is just one example of Massport using its limited capital budget to effect reductions in air emissions in the South Boston community.”  The Breathe Easy Leadership Program began in 2010. Awards were given in 2011 and 2013. This year’s awards were the collaborative fourth round. Eight entities were recognized this year, with Massport ranking in the top three. Each year, more than one million tons of cargo pass through the Paul W. Conley Container Terminal, which provides the shipping facilities New England needs to be a major international trader.