Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan; EPA Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy; PHA Chairman James T. Edmonds; Dr. Elena Craft, air quality specialist, EDF; Karl Pepple, director, environmental programming, city of Houston; Rick Maddox, president, Canal Cartage Co., and representing Texas Motor Transportation Association; and Alan Clark, director of transportation planning, H-GAC.

A $9 million SmartWay Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) award to the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) was announced last week, following the efforts of the Port of Houston Authority (PHA), H-GAC and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). The three entities worked together on the successful grant application for the funds.

Environmental Protection Agency Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy announced the Recovery and Reinvestment Act award to H-GAC on Aug. 26. A major move to help improve regional air quality, the funding will help tackle one of the largest and most difficult-to-address sources of pollution at any port: drayage trucks.

“The Port of Houston Authority is pleased to continue its support of programs that help in the reduction of air emissions,” said PHA Chairman James T. Edmonds. “The Clean Truck program is just one part of an important series of strategies in PHA’s Clean Air Strategy Plan, an environmental stewardship program designed to help improve air quality in our region.”

This funding is an important element in PHA’s Clean Air Strategy Plan efforts, working with local stakeholders and partners to assist in creating programs and policies to address air emission reductions from the goods movement sectors, including drayage trucks.

“This collaborative effort represents exactly the type of other partnerships needed to address the serious air quality issues in our region,” said Dr. Elena Craft, an air quality specialist with EDF, which pioneered the effort. "When business, civic, and environmental communities come together to address seemingly insurmountable issues, great progress can be made,” she said.

“The commitment and broad-based support of local leaders illustrates that the quality of the air we breathe is everyone’s responsibility,” said Alan Clark, H-GAC Director of Transportation Planning.

Drayage trucks are diesel-fueled, heavy-duty trucks that transport shipping containers. The DERA award will fund a bridge loan program that provides resources for retrofits or for newer, less-polluting trucks. The program targets owners of the more than 3,000 trucks operating at the Port of Houston.

PHA Chairman James T. Edmonds and Alan Clark, director of transportation planning, H-GAC.

Over the life of the program, the following emission reductions are anticipated: 1,638 tons of nitrous oxide; 26.7 tons of particulate matter; 27.4 tons of volatile organic compounds; 239 tons of carbon monoxide; and 3,636 tons of carbon dioxide.

On the same day, PHA Chairman James T. Edmonds accepted a Clean Air Champion award on behalf of the Port of Houston Authority at the 2009 Clean Air Action Leadership Awards Luncheon at the Four Seasons Hotel. Gina McCarthy gave the keynote address at the luncheon.

As one of the region’s first “Clean Air Champions,” PHA is among companies recognized for outstanding leadership in implementing measures that reduce air pollutants within the eight-county region.

This year’s award honors companies that encourage their employees to use commute alternatives and those that have adopted clean fleet policies. PHA is committed to reducing Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), by offering its employees transportation benefits, such as pool cars and a vanpool program, purchasing ultra-low and low-emission vehicles for the on-road fleet and replacing the off-road fleet with cleaner engines.

Following the luncheon, PHA coordinated an hour-long helicopter tour of the Houston Ship Channel. Charlie Jenkins, PHA director of Planning & Environment, and ECHMA representative Steve Smith gave an environmental perspective of the ship channel to EPA’s McCarthy, Larry Starfield and Carl Edlund.