SPA hails pollution measure

Charleston maritime officials hailed passage by Congress this week of a bill that would make the United States part of an international treaty to reduce pollution from ships.

The Maritime Pollution Prevention Act would implement globally recognized limits on emissions such as nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide that are set forth in a provision of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships. President Bush is expected to sign the measure.

"This is very good news for the U.S., the shipping industry and the environment," said South Carolina State Ports Authority spokesman Byron Miller.

The SPA has been active on the environmental front in recent years. It partnered with the state Department of Health and Environmental Control to reduce emissions while handling more cargo. The ports authority also switched to ultra-low-sulfur diesel, a fuel with fewer pollutants, three years ahead of a federal mandate. And the agency is funding a new air-monitoring station and including air emissions reductions in its construction bid documents.

As construction of a new port facility gets under way at the former Navy base in North Charleston, the SPA also announced a decision to fund a new office of environmental affairs.

A frequent critic of the port, the Coastal Conservation League, contends that the Maritime Pollution Prevention Act won't have any effect for more than 12 years and that joining the international treaty won't clean up fuel to highway diesel standards.

"It's a step in the right direction, but we need to go further," said program director Nancy Vinson.

Reach Allyson Bird at 937-5594 or abird@postandcourier.com.