Port Authority has series of programs to reduce emissions- By Peter A. Buxbaum, AJOT Elevated volumes of international trade in recent years has led to an increase in the number of ship calls at major U.S. seaports. This, in turn, has highlighted the contribution that seagoing vessels make to landside pollution. As a result, many ports have embarked on environmental programs to mitigate the effects shipping operations have on the ports’ local environments by curtailing emissions. The port of New York and New Jersey is no exception. Earlier this year the Port Authority introduced a clean air strategy in cooperation with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the environmental agencies of the two states, the cities of New York and Newark, and several other regional stakeholders, including the New York Shipping Association and a number of private environmental groups. “The program is focused on the three primary sources of emissions in the port: ships, trucks, and cargo handling equipment,” said Rick Larrabee, executive director of the Port Authority’s port commerce department. The Port Authority has committed $30 million through 2013 to the program. The Port Authority’s truck program has benefited from a $7 million federal grant and is focused on replacing pre-1994 trucks serving the port. The Ocean-Going Vessels Low Sulfur Fuel Program will encourage the use of low-sulfur fuel by providing financial incentives to operators of ocean vessels. The Cargo Handling Equipment Fleet Modernization Program will reimburse participating port tenants for 20 percent of the cost of replacing existing cargo handling equipment with new equipment that meets federal air-emission standards. There are other green initiatives going on at the port as well. These include a program to retrofit railroad switcher with new low-emitting technology and setting up a shore side electrical power infrastructures for vessels calling at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. All of the clean air initiatives are designed to help reduce port-related emissions of particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides and greenhouse gas emissions, with the goal of achieving an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The truck replacement program combines U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant money with an additional $21 million incentive fund from the Port Authority to enable truck owners serving the port to replace their pre-1994 trucks with newer, cleaner burning, less polluting vehicles. About 16 percent of the drayage trucks that frequently call at the port were built before 1994, and they contribute 33 percent of the fine particulate matter, 14 percent of the nitrous oxide, and 10 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions each year, according to a Port Authority document. The truck initiative provides funding to replace 636 of these older trucks with newer vehicles, resulting in a reduction of 118 tons of nitrous oxide, 14 tons of particulate matter, and 1,675 tons of greenhouse gases per year. “The truck replacement program is being implemented in two phases,” said Larrabee. “Pre-1994 model trucks will no longer be able to call on Port Authority marine terminals beginning January 1, 2011. Trucks not equipped with engines that meet or exceed 2007 federal emissions standards will no longer be able to call on the Port Authority marine terminals beginning on January 1, 2017.” Truckers are eligible for the truck replacement program if they regularly call on the Port Authority’s marine terminals. “With the help of the $7.5 million EPA grant we will be providing a 25-percent grant to any owner of an older truck to replace that truck,” said Larrabee. “Then we are also making available a 5.25 percent loan over five years to finance the purchase of newer trucks. These incentives are being offered to both independent operators and motor carriers.” Under the program, the 25 percent grant toward the total purchase price of a replacement truck will average between $20,000 and $60,00