Page 18 - Port of Baltimore - September/October 2018

PORT ENVIRONMENT
Grant Writers Find More Than Dollars in Successes
The Port of Baltimore’s highly successful air-quality improvement programs, to cut diesel emissions and make the air cleaner for the Port and its neighbors, depend on federal dollars that come through grants. Winning those grants is largely the work of two grant writers at Port-related organizations.
Ted Kluga of the Maryland Environmental Service (MES) and Susan Stephenson of EcoLogix Group have excellent track records of bringing funds to the Port for its diesel emissions-reduction programs. During the last 10 years, they have worked on grants awarded under the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA), which has made it possible to make improvements in dray trucks, cargo- hauling equipment and diesel locomotives.
They have won eight grants, totaling about $6.4 million, from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “When we’ve been successful, we’ve received nearly the full amount [requested] and sometimes more,” said Stephenson, a Senior Associate at EcoLogix, an environmental strategy firm.
“The Port is trying to be a good neighbor, but you have to balance the economics with the benefits,” said Kluga, MES Grants Administrator and Agency Energy Coordinator. The grants create that balance.
Through the dray truck program, for instance, the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Port Administration (MDOT MPA) has replaced 173 trucks since 2012. Replacement of these independently owned short-haul trucks with newer, cleaner models reduces the emission of pollutants with known health and environmental impacts.
The grants have another upside. “There is also an economic benefit for the individual trucker,” said Kluga. Grants provide up to $30,000 for the purchase of a new, or newer, model that meets the most current emissions standards. Because many of the dray truckers are one-person-one-truck operations, this payment is a huge boon to them, as well as to the Port’s air quality.
Kluga and Stephenson often work on the grants together, with Stephenson doing most of the actual writing. Kluga and MES apply for the grants through the Port and manage the submission process and implementation of the awarded grants. “We serve as the point of contact with the EPA; we manage the grants and all the reporting,” Kluga said of his agency’s role.
The MES also has the pleasure of getting the money to the truckers. “The Port likes us because we can cut a check quickly,” Kluga said. This is particularly important because, under the grant regulations, the old truck must be dismantled and scrapped, putting the trucker out of service for days if he cannot complete the purchase of his new truck soon thereafter.
“If the trucker sat for a couple weeks, the program would not be as successful,” Stephenson said.
Though the grants and the EPA programs have had “significant effects” on the Port’s air quality, they also have other effects that please the two grant writers. “The real payoff is seeing a worthwhile project funded with various benefits,” said Kluga. Stephenson concurred: “I see the outcomes that can happen on the other end. Seeing the new equipment is very satisfying.” 􏰀
[16] The Port of Baltimore ■
September/October 2018
EPA Grant Spurs Cargo-Handler to Replace 20-year- old Trucks
The Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Port Administration (MDOT MPA) continues to make progress in replacing older heavy-duty diesel equipment with new equipment that meets current federal standards for emissions reduction. In late 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded MDOT MPA $978,302 to replace/repower 26 pieces of cargo-handling equipment and install automatic start/stop devices on six locomotive engines.
Through this grant, BalTerm, one of the Port’s leading handlers of imported forest products, was able to replace three 16,000-pound-capacity lift trucks with new Taylor TLX-160 lift trucks. “BalTerm was excited to have the opportunity to participate for the second time in the Port of Baltimore’s Diesel Equipment Upgrade Program,” said Jeremy Riddle, General Manager of BalTerm. The replaced trucks were on average 20 years old.
“These Taylor lift trucks will be employed at our South Locust Point paper terminal, handling rolls of
paper imported from Europe,” Riddle explained. “The Taylor TLX-160 is equipped with an EPA-certified Tier IV Cummins diesel engine, as well as the Taylor Integrated Control System, which in addition to displaying fuel usage and emissions data, allows us to control idle time by shutting down the engine after a preset period at idle.
“The grant program allows
us to accelerate our replacement program,” Riddle said. “We look forward to applying for future grant opportunities and thank the Maryland Port Administration and the Maryland Environmental Service for coordinating and administering the grant program for the entire Port community.”
As part of the Logistec Group, BalTerm is a member of Green