Depts of Environment & Transportation, MD Port Administration announce Clean & Green Ports agreement

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Depts of Environment & Transportation, MD Port Administration announce Clean & Green Ports agreement

EPA presents grant funding to assist in lowering emissions from Port operations

Baltimore, MD (December 11, 2015) – State officials today announced Maryland’s commitment to cooperative efforts that will protect our environment while sustaining and advancing the economic health of the Port of Baltimore.

The Maryland Department of the Environment has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and MDOT’s Maryland Port Administration, officials announced at the Dundalk Marine Terminal. The agreement is designed to create opportunities to secure funding from the non-profit sector or the federal government for programs that reduce air emissions.

Shawn Garvin, Environmental Protection Agency, Region 3 Administrator, presented grant funding of $870,000 to be used for one such program: replacing trucks coming in and out of the port with new, cleaner trucks with lower emissions. Other possibilities for reducing emissions could come through programs such as a locomotive idling reduction program, the use of solar panels or the electrification of cargo-handling activities at the Port.

“Our partnership with the port means cleaner air and a stronger economy for the region. Environmental stewardship with ships, trucks, trains and machines here at home opens the door to a healthier bay and community and becomes a shining example for other ports around the world,” Secretary of the Environment Ben Grumbles said.

The Port of Baltimore supports more than 13,600 direct jobs and nearly 130,000 jobs in our state that are linked to the Port.

“Today, working with our partners, the Port of Baltimore has committed to growing business and being a good neighbor,” said Transportation Secretary Pete K. Rahn.

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