US$1.8m grant to invest in eco equipment

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore a grant using Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) funds. The grant will cover about 44 dray trucks and four pieces of cargo-handling equipment, such as forklifts, yard tractors and other heavy cargo machinery.

“This EPA grant will help us continue cleaning the air around the Port of Baltimore,” said Governor Larry Hogan.

Long-term benefits

It’s estimated that the replacement equipment acquired for the port through the DERA grant will result in a lifetime reduction of emissions output of about 14t of particulate matter, 290t of nitrogen oxides, 96t of carbon monoxide and 15t of hydrocarbons, said the Maryland Port Administration.

The federal grant adds to the port’s own diesel equipment upgrade programme, which also focuses on replacement or retrofit of older equipment with newer and more emission-efficient technology.

Since launching the programme in 2008, the port has replaced more than 200 dray trucks and 110 pieces of cargo-handling equipment, repowered 10 marine engines and retrofitted 16 locomotive engines. Overall, those upgrades have resulted in reductions of 3,304t of nitrogen oxide, 922t of carbon monoxide, 165t of particulate matter and 141t of hydrocarbons.

“Through initiatives like our Diesel Equipment Upgrade Program and EPA’s Clean Diesel Program, we have reduced pollutants in the air around the Port by more than 10,000 tons in the past 12 years,” said David Thomas, acting executive director of the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Port Administration (MDOT MPA).