April 20, 2010

New EPA Regional Administrator Alfredo Armendariz briefed on environmental initiatives at Port of Houston Authority

	Aston Hinds, senior manager, Environmental Affairs, Alfredo Armendariz and David Gray, director of external affairs, EPA.

Alfredo “Al” Armendariz, regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6, was briefed Thursday on the Port of Houston Authority’s environmental initiatives and its role as a leader in environmental stewardship. Appointed by President Obama in November 2009, Armendariz is responsible for managing the federal environmental agency’s activities in a region that encompasses Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and 66 tribal nations.

With encouragement by EPA’s Office of International Affairs, PHA recently partnered with the Hamburg-Sud shipping line in a project involving Houston’s port and two ports in Mexico. The project is studying whether switching ocean-going vessels to low-sulfur marine fuel will help lower emissions of sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter. The results of this study could have significant implications related to air quality regulations from the International Maritime Organization. With this week’s arrival of an ocean-going cargo vessel at the port authority, the EPA will conclude the data-gathering phase of the study.

Beginning in August 2012, stringent international standards will require that lower sulfur fuels be used by ships operating within up to 200 nautical miles of the majority of the U.S. and Canadian Atlantic and Pacific coastal waters, as well as the U.S. Gulf Coast.

“The Port of Houston Authority has continued to show leadership in reducing diesel air pollution from its on-site operation and truck traffic to and from its shipping terminals,” Armendariz said. “Their leadership in collecting much needed scientific data on the actual emissions from cargo ships is invaluable and demonstrates their commitment to ‘greening’ port operations across the country.”

The Port of Houston Authority was the first of any U.S. ports to have facilities achieve and maintain ISO 14001 certification, an international environmental compliance standard. PHA’s award-winning, maritime industry-leading programs focus on continual improvements in air quality, water quality, energy efficiency, solid waste reduction, recycling and marshes and other natural vegetation for wildlife habitats.

Armendariz and PHA Chairman Jim Edmonds.

According to PHA Chairman Jim Edmonds, PHA’s participation in EPA’s National Performance Track Program and other initiatives aim at setting and exceeding high standards for the environment. “The port authority continually strives to exceed standards, to do more than just comply with government regulations,” Edmonds said.

PHA also actively collaborates with ship channel industry partners to pursue grants through Diesel Engine Reduction Act (DERA), Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP), EPA’s Innovative Technologies Grant Program and EPA's SmartWay Drayage Truck Program.

	Charlie Jenkins, vice president, Strategic Planning, Armendariz, PHA Chairman Jim Edmonds, PHA Chief Executive Officer Alec Dreyer.

In addition to Chairman Edmonds, other PHA officials attending Thursday’s roundtable briefing for Armendariz included Chief Executive Officer Alec Dreyer; Charlie Jenkins, vice president of strategic planning; Argentina James, vice president of public affairs; and representatives of PHA’s environmental affairs, community relations and government relations departments.