AmericasEnvironmentPorts and Logistics

California ports given extension for emission reduction plans

California’s clean air agency has extended by three months a deadline by which diesel-powered ships need to show how they will achieve big reductions in polluting emissions while at berth in the state’s ports.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is deferring from July 1 to October 1 the date for ship operators to submit a plan identifying which compliance option they will use to lower by 70% the emissions while their vessels are at berth in the Golden State.

This 70% target is bigger than the 50% reduction required since 2014 under the state’s Airborne Toxic Control Measure for Auxiliary Diesel Engines Operated on Ocean-Going Vessels in a California Port (At-Berth Regulation).

The proposed regulation also requires terminal operators to lay out how they will provide necessary infrastructure to help ships comply with the emissions target.

Terminals affected are at the following ports: the Port of Hueneme, the Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Long Beach, the Port of Oakland, the Port of San Diego and the Port of San Francisco.

The projected start date for the emissions reduction rules remains the same – January 1, 2017.

CARB is a department of the California Environmental Protection Agency (CEPA). California is unique among US states in having its own air standards agency which preceded the introduction of federal regulations.

Donal Scully

With 28 years experience writing and editing for newspapers in the UK and Hong Kong, Donal is now based in California from where he covers the Americas for Splash as well as ensuring the site is loaded through the Western Hemisphere timezone.
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