As a founding member of the Puget Sound Maritime Air Forum, a partnership of maritime agencies and industry, the Port of Seattle has made great strides toward reducing the toxic risks in our region’s air that result from diesel-fueled sources.

"The maritime industry has many different players, so one of our challenges was to figure out how much diesel in the area is from maritime sources," said Stephanie Jones-Stebbins, senior manager of the Seaport Environmental Program. "We found that 28 percent in the area comes from maritime sources, such as ships, trains, tugboats and trucks."

These findings led the Port of Seattle to join with the Ports of Tacoma and Vancouver, B.C., to form the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy, which has set various reduction goals for 2010 and 2015.

Progress is already being made. Some ocean-going vessels have switched to cleaner fuels, and a plan has been developed to help shipping and cruise lines pay for cleaner fuel when docked in Seattle’s harbor.

The Port also has been working with terminal operators to retrofit cargo-handling equipment. All terminal operators have switched from higher sulfur off-road diesel to ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel; two out of three terminal operators are also using biodiesel blends. Where appropriate, the terminal operators are replacing equipment with cleaner on-road engines, rather than off-road engines.

But the biggest challenge lies in trucking. Three percent of truck diesel emissions in the region come from trucks serving the Port. Like every West Coast port, we are searching for long-term solutions.

Jones-Stebbins said one of the chief aspects of our Port’s clean air strategy will be that by 2010 all trucks on Port of Seattle property must be 1994 model years (the year the EPA adopted new emissions standards) or newer. By 2017, no trucks older than 2007 will be allowed. In 2007, the EPA implemented its final, and most stringent, particulate matter emission standard for diesel trucks.

"The challenge is not the technology, but how to pay for it and how to enforce the standards," she said, indicating that more than half of the truck drivers operating within the Port are owner/operators, rather than employees of larger trucking companies. For these small business operators, the cost of a newer truck can pose a hardship.

By engaging stakeholders from environmental and labor groups, local community and industry, the Port is seeking to develop a sustainable model that’s more than a one-time fix.

"We are reaching out to many and will have a plan to the commission by the end of first quarter," Jones-Stebbins said. "In the end, it will not only provide cleaner air, but keep Seattle competitive."