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Celebrating Earth Day: Recognizing PNWA member environmental
achievements and initiatives
In
celebration of Earth Day, we would like to recognize the environmental efforts
of our members, and highlight PNWA's 2009 environmental agenda.
PNWA
2009 Climate Change Agenda
PNWA continues its 75-year history of advocating for the
development of low cost, fuel efficient and clean infrastructure to support our
region's economy and environment. PNWA's Priority Action Agenda for 2009
includes the following initiatives:
Transportation Efficiencies
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Maintain and improve navigation capabilities. Maximizing navigation capabilities is the best solution for
meeting America's need for environmentally responsible, efficient and
affordable transportation. It is the
least polluting and most fuel efficient mode of transportation. Each year, barging on the Columbia and Snake
Rivers keeps 700,000 trucks off the highways running through the sensitive
airshed of the Columbia River Gorge.
Barges get 576 ton-miles to the gallon. That is better than rail and
truck combined. Supporting navigation
means fewer trucks on the road, less road congestion, greater public safety,
and a cleaner environment.
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Improve rural and intermodal rail connections. Rural communities
need a robust short line rail capability to reduce truck hauls from farm and
factory to the market. After navigation, rail is the cleanest way to move
cargo.
Energy Efficiencies
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Maintain hydropower capabilities. Hydropower is a renewable resource. Federal policy should
reflect that. Hydropower generates low cost, carbon-free electricity and is imperative
to maintaining a clean environment in the Northwest. It would take 3 nuclear, 6
coal-fired, or 14 gas-fired power plants to generate the same peaking capacity
provided by the four lower Snake River dams. Hydropower reduces carbon dioxide
emissions by an amount equal to the annual exhaust of 62.2 million passenger
cars, or half of the cars currently on U.S. roads.
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Support alternative energy development. Support development
of new wind, solar, wave and biomass energy projects to meet regional demand.
Air Emissions Reductions
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Support federal grant
funding for DERA, the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act. Expand DERA grant
eligibility criteria to include attainment areas.
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Support port and towboat members
with transitions to cleaner power sources.
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Fund the Clean Diesel Initiative
grant program at the Congressionally-authorized level of $200M.
Streamline Permitting Process
Since 2000, PNWA has been working
with Congress and the federal agencies to help identify and overcome barriers,
and expedite the permitting process for economic and environmental
projects. We have had great
success. Accomplishments include peer
review of the Northwestern Division's permitting processes, additional
regulatory staff assigned to the Seattle District by Corps HQ, and the
implementation and extension of WRDA Section 214. We continue to work to these ends, including
permanence for Section 214 and ongoing efforts to address inefficiencies in the
internal processes of the federal agencies.
PNWA Member Initiatives
Towboat Industry
Foss, Shaver and Tidewater are investing millions of dollars
to upgrade equipment to ensure a cleaner environment and conservation of
natural resources. New tugs are being built and older tugs are being repowered
with EPA Tier II compliant clean burn diesel engines, cutting fuel consumption
by 32%, oil consumption by 90%, and emissions by up to 50%.
In addition to these overall improvements, each barge line is
focusing on individual
projects as well:
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Foss
Maritime has built the world's first true hybrid tug boat, a green vessel that
significantly reduces harmful nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, sulfur
dioxide, and carbon emissions.
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Shaver
transportation has built and installed a cold iron barge at Port of Portland's
Terminal 6. This tug tie-up allows
vessels to plug in rather than run their engines while awaiting assignments,
eliminating emissions and greatly reducing fuel consumption.
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Tidewater
Barge Lines is converting a fifth petroleum barge to double hull. They plan to
have all of their fuel barges replaced with double hull barges by 2011, four
years ahead of regulatory requirements.
Ports
The
region's ports are taking the lead in environmental protection, wetland habitat
and ecosystem restoration, airshed emission reduction, and water
efficiency. The following highlights some
of the individual projects they are working on:
Port of
Garibaldi. With a grant from DEQ's Clean Water Program,
the Port of Garibaldi updated its catch basins, directing water from parking
lots and streets to new basins where solids and oil are separated before it
goes into the bay. The Port also
provides an oil recycling center for boaters, and maintains a response center
to supply the necessary equipment to meet the needs of oil spill response.
Port of
Benton. The Port of Benton successfully converted
over 60 tons of biomass from grape pomace, mint slug, spent hops, wheat straw
and sawdust into pellets to prove the feasibility of converting biomass into
energy/heat producing material. This type of biomass gasification is a viable
alternative green power for our region's utilities.
Port of
Kennewick. The Port of Kennewick is working to return
damaged shorelines to conditions favorable to young salmon, add native
plantings, restore riparian habitat, and develop riverfront pathways along the
perimeter of Clover Island in the Columbia River. The Shoreline
Improvement Project will restore salmon and wildlife habitat, educate the
public about ecosystem recovery, and provide a stronger physical connection to
the Columbia River.
Port of
Portland. In 2008, the Port of Portland's natural
resources program was awarded a ninth consecutive environmental achievement
award from the American Association of Port Authorities. Portland's
comprehensive efforts to protect native species and control invasive species
around its facilities were honored. Projects include enhanced habitat for
streaked horned larks, invasive species monitoring stations, and a wildlife
undercrossing that helps native animals access wetland areas without having to
cross a busy road. The port has also initiated numerous strategies to reduce
vehicle idling and improve air quality, reduce energy use, and minimize waste.
Port of
Seattle. The Port of Seattle has a goal of being the
cleanest, greenest, most energy efficient port in the nation. They are
the only cruise port in the country to provide shorepower at two
cruise berths, which allows vessels to shut down their engines while at
berth. The Port of Seattle is also a founding reporter
with the Climate Registry, and works proactively to improve water
quality in Puget Sound and Elliott Bay. They organically
maintain 19 acres of waterfront parks, which comprise some of the only
urban lands in Washington state to be certified safe for salmon. Through their capital development projects,
the Port continues to improve the environment, including removing over 70,000
creosote pilings and building almost four acres of habitat on the Duwamish River.
Port of
Vancouver, USA. The Port of Vancouver, USA is undertaking
major environmental advances, including wetland bank improvements, completion
of a groundwater treatment facility, brownfield revitalization, and
collaboration on a clean air strategy.
The Port is working to create a 160 acre wetland mitigation bank on
port-owned property, and will soon complete construction of a $5 million
pump-and-treat system to remove trichloroethylene and solvent contaminants. To
date, the Port has successfully remediated over 55 acres of land
to redevelopment standards and returned them to productive industrial
use. The Port has also joined the
Columbia River Clean Diesel Project as part of their Clean Air Strategy. This bi-state, private/public solutions group
works to reduce diesel particulate matter in the Portland/Vancouver area along
the Columbia River.
Oregon and
Washington Clean Marina Programs. The Clean Marina programs in Oregon and
Washington are voluntary port initiatives to protect and improve local water
quality by promoting the use of environmentally sensitive practices at marinas.
If a facility is in compliance with existing environmental regulations and uses
a high percentage of the recommended best management practices, it can be
certified as an Oregon or Washington Clean Marina. Many PNWA member ports are
working to become certified, or have already done so.
North West Ports Clean Air Strategy. To improve air quality in their harbors,
the Ports of Tacoma and Seattle, and Port Metro Vancouver (Canada), have formed a
landmark partnership through the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy.
In this agreement, they set shared goals for reduction of diesel
emissions and greenhouse gases for 2010 and 2015.
Puget Sound Marine Emissions Inventory. The Ports of Tacoma and Seattle, along with
many partners (including the American Lung Association, EPA, U.S. Coast Guard,
U.S. Navy), are funding the Puget Sound Marine Emissions Inventory, and have
already committed $318,000 to replace and retrofit cargo handling equipment at
the two ports. They are developing and
implementing air pollution control strategies for vessels and on the docks. The
ports are also modifying equipment to operate on clean propane, switching to
ultra-low-emission fuels, using bio-diesel and working with cargo and cruise
vessels to reduce air emissions.
Many
PNWA member ports are also working to develop environmental initiatives that
enhance the economic value they currently provide their communities. In addition to the examples listed above,
ports like Woodland, WA have retrofitted buildings with energy saving light
fixtures to make their properties more energy efficient, and provide clients
with lower energy costs. Upriver, ports
like Walla Walla, WA are engaging in watershed restoration projects. Many are also planning new biofuels
facilities to produce cleaner energy and reduce the use of fossil fuels. PNWA member ports are making great strides to
improve environmental quality in the Pacific Northwest.
Other PNWA Organizations
PNGC Power. PNGC Power supports creation of a wind energy
pilot project in Reedsport, OR. A wave
energy park is currently being developed and it is anticipated to sell
electricity commercially with PNGC Power's participation. A demonstration buoy is expected to be
fabricated and launched in the Pacific Ocean near Reedsport in 2010. PNGC Power also provides operational and
management expertise at the Coffin Butte Resource Project located north of
Corvallis, OR. The project generates
5.66 megawatts of clean, renewable power from landfill gas, a natural
by-product of solid waste. Coffin Butte,
which began operation in 1995, allows several electric cooperatives to offer
customers "green power" as a way to support renewable resources.
Weyerhaeuser. Weyerhaeuser is reducing its greenhouse gas
emissions 40% by 2020 while reducing its reliance on fossil fuels. The company is accomplishing this goal by
generating 72% of their energy from renewable biomass, and installing cleaner
boilers to generate steam and electrical energy in their mills. Weyerhaeuser has also sequestered 2.6 times
more carbon, primarily in wood products, than it emitted last year, reduced air
and water emissions, recovered 6.7 million tons of used paper (13% of the total
recycled in the U.S.), and has obtained independent certification that all of
the forests it manages or owns in North America meet the Sustainable Forestry
Initiative Standard or the Canadian Standards Association sustainable forest
management standard. Their environmental
sustainability report is available online at
www.wy.com/environment/sustainability.
We applaud the efforts of our members, and look
forward to sharing more of their environmental achievements. For additional details regarding the
information above, log on to our website, www.pnwa.net. To view our new fact sheet featuring PNWA's
detailed climate change agenda, go to www.pnwa.net/articles/PNWA and Climate Change.pdf.
To view additional information regarding what PNWA members are doing to
improve the Northwest's environmental quality, log onto www.pnwa.net/new/Articles/PNWA_Environmental_initiatives. If you would like to add your
organization's achievements and initiatives to this document, please contact
Heather Kenneson at heather.kenneson@pnwa.net or 503-234-8553.
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