For the second year in a row the Port of Long Beach has earned the highest environmental recognition from the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA).
The Port will receive the Comprehensive Environmental Management Award with the Port of Los Angeles for the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan, a joint program to reduce air pollution from port-related operations by 45 percent or more within five years. The award will be presented October 3 at the association’s annual convention in Norfolk, Virginia.
The Comprehensive Environmental Management Award is the AAPA’s highest environmental honor.
Last year the Port of Long Beach received the award for its landmark Green Port Policy, a broad strategy to reduce the harmful environmental impacts of port operations in several key areas. In addition to the air quality issues addressed in the Clean Air Action Plan, the Green Port Policy focuses on a wide range of environmental solutions to water quality, wildlife, soils, sustainability and community engagement.
The Clean Air Action Plan, approved in November 2006, is specifically aimed at reducing the health risks posed by air pollution from port-related ships, trains, trucks, terminal equipment and harbor craft. The plan was created by both ports with the cooperation and participation of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, California Air Resources Board and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“We’re very pleased that AAPA has recognized our efforts in developing and implementing the Clean Air Action Plan,” said Rick Cameron, Manager of Environmental Planning. “It was a landmark undertaking that will deliver major clean-air benefits to the region.”
The Port of Long Beach received another top AAPA environmental honor in 2004, the Environmental Enhancement Award, for its Diesel Emissions Reduction Program, which replaced or retrofitted more than 600 pieces of cargo-handling equipment at Port terminals.