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Report Newsletters
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Transportation
Planning
As the Bayport Terminal becomes fully operational, we
are also working diligently with Harris County and the
Texas Department of Transportation to plan future road
improvements for the Bayport area. Appropriate transportation
infrastructure planning, combined with PHA’s environmental
stewardship policies and practices, will ensure continued
smart growth in the region.
Background
For more than 90 years, the Port of Houston has been
your neighbor. As we conduct our day-to-day business,
we are always mindful of the community that we all share
in. Today, the port looks forward to expanding our business
capabilities, all the while maintaining high standards
for being a good neighbor.
In 2007, the
Barbours Cut terminal posted yet another record year
by handling more than one million containers. Barbours
Cut serves the Port of Houston well, but rapid market
growth puts intense pressure on the facility, stretching
it beyond its storage capacity. Barbours Cut is at the
brink of gridlock, and the port needs more space to
meet projected growth and to further contribute to our
economy.
To relieve
this growth pressure and meet the demands of our customers,
the Port Authority is building the Bayport Container
and Cruise Terminal. This $1.4 billion project will
develop in a market-driven timeline and is an engineering
marvel.
Read the federal
district court's ruling on Bayport. (05-04-04)
View the Bayport
master plan. (05-20-09)
View the Bayport
Phase 1 plan.
The Bayport Plan good
for the economy and the environment
As we move forward with the Bayport
Terminal expansion project, we continue to work to address
all community concerns regarding this proposed facility,
all the while setting a standard in the maritime industry
for environmental stewardship and community responsiveness.
The Bayport facility represents good
business for the Houston-Galveston region. Bayport will
generate almost 12,000 jobs over the first 10 years.
Added economic impact to our region means more than
$1 billion in new business revenues and more than $40
million in new tax revenues each year.
Bayport has been designed with the
highest environmental standards and procedures. Our
plans go well beyond the letter of the law, and we push
to exceed standards and requirements for protecting
the environment as well as responding to considerable
community input.
The goal of the Bayport environmental
plan is to exceed all applicable local, state and federal
requirements. The Port of Houston Authority has an industry
leading environmental program that we are very proud
of, and we are designing Bayport with state-of-the-art
features.
Addressing function, Bayport operates
under a four-part stormwater discharge system that is
designed beyond any local, state or federal requirements.
During the construction phases, the port will use best
management practices to control erosion and minimize
the level of solid particulates in stormwater runoff.
Tthe four-part system collects all
rainwater runoff to prevent potential material from
the terminal grounds from reaching the bay. The Galveston
Bay system will be protected by capturing the first
inch of rainfall from the facility and diverting it
into a holding pond. The first flush pond will trap
suspended solids, thus decreasing the discharge of sediments
into the channel and bay.
To illustrate the point, Barbours
Cut and other terminals across the country do not currently
have this specially designed four-part system. When
it rains, water runs through the terminal's trench system
and is directed to the bay. We sample stormwater at
Barbours Cut and have never never exceeded
any regulatory limits. And those successful returns
are collected from a source that does not have the high
level of protection that Bayport will have.
To further decrease the rate of stormwater
discharge associated with concrete pavement at the new
terminals, the port authority is constructing the South
Terminal Retention Pond. This basin will protect Pine
Gully by capturing and holding stormwater in excess
of one inch, then releasing it slowly. Additionally,
the retention pond will have a created wetland, further
filtering water before discharging it into Pine Gully.
Again, with environmental protection
in mind, terminal areas that could potentially impact
stormwater such as the equipment and crane maintenance
and equipment parking areas will have isolated
drainage basins. After removing any suspended solids
and oil and grease, the stormwater will be released
into the first flush pond.
Bayport's ecological value
Addressing value, the Port of Houston
and the Army Corps of Engineers are creating 4,200 acres
of marshland as part of the Houston Ship Channel project,
the Bayport project also will include marshland as part
of its mitigation plan. The port authority will create
up to another 200 acres of marshlands in Galveston Bay
from dredge material. These marshlands act as a nursery
for marine life and provide excellent bird watching
and fishing opportunities, thus increasing the recreational
value of Galveston Bay.
The Port Authority has purchased 173
acres near the Armand Bayou Nature Center. This site
will be protected as a conservation
easement, creating nearly 70 acres of emergent freshwater
wetlands, enhancing 12 acres of existing wetlands, preserving
23.7 acres of forested upland and restoring 71 acres
of upland coastal prairie.
At this site, the port authority will
replace the nearly 20 acres of jurisdictional wetlands
at a rate of nearly 3.5 to 1. The Army Corps of Engineers
determines the total mitigation acreage, and the port
is ready to comply with the Corps' replacement requirements,
whatever they may be.
This improvement and dedication of
an environmental easement will benefit the community
and the nearby Armand Bayou Nature Center and help to
preserve a natural area for generations to enjoy.
The Port of Houston Authority is not
planning and has not requested deepening the channel
to 50 feet. For that matter, the Army Corps of Engineers
has no such plans, either.
If the Army Corps of Engineers ever
decided to deepen the Houston Ship Channel and the Bayport
Channel to 50 feet, the Corps would need to complete
a separate environmental impact statement. For example,
the Houston Ship Channel is currently being deepened
to 45 feet from 40 feet. This action required Congressional
approval in the Water Resources Development Act, a bond
election approval by the voters of Harris County, completion
of an EIS by the Corps and annual appropriations by
Congress.
The Port of Houston is committed to
maintaining established International Standards. In
2002, the Port of Houston became the first U.S. port
to achieve compliance with ISO 14001. We received that
designation based on voluntary environmental management
systems implemented at Barbours Cut and the Central
Maintenance facility.
Since opening day, Bayport has been
ISO 14001 compliant. This new facility, a jewel to our
economy, our environment and our community,will continue
to meet ISO 14001 standards because we are planning
and will construct this terminal to be a stellar example
of environmental stewardship now and in the future.
The port authority believes that the
water quality plans for Bayport exceed all current governmental
standards and help to raise the bar for all future environmental
protection protecting our bay, our community
and all of Texas.
Bayport's economics
| After 10 years
(2017) |
|
| Jobs |
|
| Container |
12,245 |
| Cruise |
2,908 |
| Total |
15,153 |
| |
|
| Business Revenue |
|
| Container |
$720
million |
| Cruise |
$76
million |
| Total |
$796
million |
| |
| Construction Jobs |
16,467 |
| |
| At Buildout
(2030) |
|
| Jobs |
|
| Container |
29,255 |
| Cruise |
2,908 |
| Total |
32,163 |
| |
|
| Business Revenue |
|
| Container |
$1.73
billion |
| Cruise |
$0.70
billion |
| Total |
$2.43
billion |
| |
|
| Construction Jobs |
29,151 |
Last updated: 03/07/11
Port
of Houston Authority
111 East Loop North Houston, Texas 77029
P.O. Box 2562 Houston, Texas 77252-2562
Phone: 713-670-2400
Copyright 2009 Port of
Houston Authority All Rights Reserved
For questions and comments, send an e-mail.
Please include company name and phone number, when appropriate,
so we may better respond to your inquiry.
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