N.Y.-N.J. port seeks to reduce port pollution

N.Y.-N.J. port seeks to reduce port pollution    The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it has received more than $11 million in grants to implement the first pieces of a “Comprehensive Clean Air Strategy” for the port.
   The plan has elements to reduce pollution from drayage trucks, cruise ships, railroads.
   The agency said a $7 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will be combined with a $21 million incentive fund from the port authority to create a $28 million program to replace 636 pre-1994 trucks serving the port with newer cleaner burning, less polluting vehicles.
   About 16 percent of the 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 nitrogen oxide emissions and 10 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions from trucks at the port each year.
   The port authority said about 16,000 trucks visit the port each year, but many of them come infrequently. About 4,500 make at least one trip to the port each day.
   The port authority is still developing eligibility requirements for the program, but a spokesman said that both independent owner-operators and corporate fleets would be eligible to apply for funds to replace older trucks.
   The port authority also received $2.8 million from the EPA to support the installation of a shore power system at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. The Brooklyn facility would be the first on the East Coast to provide shore power for docked vessels.
   The grant will help provide the infrastructure required for ships to connect to the landside electrical grid instead of running their onboard diesel engines. Carnival Cruise Lines has committed to reconfiguring two cruise vessels that frequently call at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal with the capability to receive shore power, at an estimated cost of $2 million.
   The port authority also received a $1.8 million North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority grant to retrofit two diesel switcher locomotive engines with ultra-low emitting locomotive technology. Total project costs are estimated at $3 million with the remaining costs shared by the port authority ($600,000), CSX ($300,000), and Norfolk Southern ($300,000), which have each agreed to provide one engine for retrofit.
   The port authority estimated the programs announced Thursday would result in reductions in pollutants as follows:
   ' Fine particulate matter: 14 tons from trucks, 6.5 tons from cruise ships, and 4.7 tons from railroads.
   ' Nitrogen oxides: 118 tons from trucks, 95.3 tons from cruise ships, and 185.7 tons from railroads.
   ' Greenhouse gases: 1,675 tons from trucks, 1,487 tons from cruise ships, and 1,935 tons from railroads;
   ' Volatile organic compounds: 14 tons from railroads. ' Chris Dupin