According to the Pacific Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy announced yesterday, the goal is to reduce particulate matter by 70% from ships at berth and 30% from cargo handling equipment by 2010.
Performance goals still are to be developed for trucks, trains and harbour craft. The Ports have committed to working with the trucking industry and the railroads to develop the goals.
A framework plan has been released, but the ports and their customers, tenants and other stakeholders will continue to iron out the details, and the resulting plan will be submitted in the fall to the three ports’ authorities for final approval in December.
As the plan is finalised, the ports will ask stakeholder groups to help implement emissions reduction measures and formally sign on as partners.
The Port of Vancouver and some other West Coast ports have developed strategies to deal with truck emissions. In Vancouver, a recently established program requires all container trucks to have a Truck Licensing System (TLS) licence in order to gain access to port terminals.