SPA, DHEC team up on standardsto help keep Charleston's air clean

While the Charleston region meets all federal air quality standards today, the air we breathe will be getting cleaner tomorrow based on two major actions that recently took place.

New international standards will require that all ships calling Charleston use dramatically cleaner fuels, and a partnership with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control has been renewed to further reduce port-related air emissions.

Back in the fall of 2008, the South Carolina State Ports Authority released an air emissions inventory for the Port of Charleston. It included not only on-terminal cargo-handling equipment, but also the impacts of trucks, tugs, ships, rail engines and any other activity associated with the port from outside Charleston Harbor to the tri-county lines -- an area spanning 2,500 square miles.

This comprehensive air emissions inventory was the first -- and remains the only -- such study completed by any port in the Southeast. While this inventory demonstrated that all port-related emissions account for less than 5 percent of the total emissions in the tri-county and about 1 percent of fine particulate matter, the SPA recognizes that we all have a role in reducing air impacts.

The SPA and DHEC recently extended a voluntary agreement that in the past three years has already successfully reduced port-related air emissions. The partnership, also the only one of its kind in the Southeast, has resulted in a number of specific programs aimed at cutting emissions across the local port community.

The SPA has switched all on-terminal diesel equipment -- both port-owned and tenant-owned -- to ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, and included contractor guidelines to minimize construction impacts. Harbor pilot boats and Public Railways engines are also using cleaner fuel, along with two tug boats operated by Moran Towing. All voluntary, and all well ahead of any federal mandates.

The largest reductions in port-related air emissions have come from two separate projects totaling more than $5 million in federal grants along with local matching funds. These public-private projects currently under way represent collaborations between the SPA, DHEC and 23 private companies and associations.

When complete later this year, these two projects will eliminate more than 2,300 tons of pollutants from both port-owned and privately owned diesel engines. These significant emissions reductions are being accomplished by replacing older engines, by using cleaner fuels and filters, and by installing idle-reduction and fuel-saving technologies. The impacted equipment includes 57 cargo-handling machines, 117 trucks, four tugs and a dredge.

These projects are good for the environment, but they're also good for the companies as well. For example, replacing older engines with new, cleaner engines can greatly reduce fuel and maintenance costs.

Our community is justifiably proud that its port industry is a recognized leader in environmental stewardship. In a visit to the port earlier this month, EPA assistant administrator Gina McCarthy lauded the SPA's proactive approach to cutting emissions both on its facilities and beyond the port's footprint.

There is still work to be done, and that is why the SPA has renewed its partnership with DHEC. Under the extended agreement, the SPA will continue to work with DHEC during the next three years to evaluate additional air emissions reduction measures. Also, the SPA will continue to explore potential partnerships with private companies throughout the maritime community to develop proactive, voluntary projects that will have a positive impact on the environment.

Beyond the maritime industry's tremendous local efforts, new international regulations will significantly reduce ship emissions. Action last week by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has designated waters off the coast of North America as an Emission Control Area, requiring all ships calling our port to use dramatically cleaner fuel.

In several steps, the stringent new standards will reduce sulfur content in fuel by 98 percent while slashing particulate matter emissions by 85 percent and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 80 percent. Tough new sulfur standards will start in 2012 and increase by 2015.

The Port of Charleston is obviously committed to being a leader in environmental stewardship in the Southeast. The SPA intends to continue this effort through the implementation of an Environmental Management System, which will incorporate its air emissions reductions efforts along with efforts to protect water quality.

Beyond efforts targeted toward cleaner air, the SPA has developed a variety of other initiatives through its Pledge for Growth environmental program, which are detailed at www.pledgeforgrowth.com.

The growth and success of the Port can mean great things for our community -- more high-paying jobs and the ability to invest in a cleaner, healthier environment.

Jeannie Adame is the manager of environmental affairs at the South Carolina State Ports Authority.