Long Beach, L.A. ports eye $3B EPA emissions program
An influx of $3billion in grant funding through the federal CleanPorts Program drew praise from the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach this week as the application process gets underway this month.
“It’s crucial to ensure that the nearly $3billion in funding goes toward impactful, real-world decarbonization projects,” Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero said.
Cordero praised the efforts of Rep. Robert Garcia, D-LongBeach, for his role in urging more flexibility in the funding opportunities through the Environ
mental Protection Agency.
Along with Rep. Randy Weber Sr., R-Texas, Garcia advocated for more flexibility in the application process set out by the EPA. Garcia and Weber, who are co-chairs of the Congressional Ports Caucus, sent a joint letter to EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan on Feb. 16 in which they urged the EPA to prioritize grants to seaports because of the challenges and ongoing efforts to electrify operations.
Another request was to loosen the EPA's earlier stated caps on electric grid infrastructure, saying that seaports have indicated that charging and fueling infrastructure comprises at least 50% of the costs associated with zero-emissions projects.
“As we work to decarbonize cargo operations and achieve our zero-emissions future,” Cordero said, “we are grateful for the support and partnership along the way.”
The application period opened this month and has a May 28 deadline.
“This is a major investment by the federal government in port sustainability, targeting the electrification of infrastructure and equipment,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said in a statement. “With the efforts already underway at this port complex focused on zero emissions, we'll be working hard to bring a significant share of those funds to Southern California.”
The funding was created under President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act with the aim to reduce diesel pollution from U.S. ports in surrounding communities while creating well-paying jobs, according to an EPA statement on Feb. 29.
The program is designed to help ports nationwide transition to fully zeroemissions operations.
Approximately $150 million will go to fund climate and air quality planning activities at U.S. ports, including emissions inventories, strategy analysis and community engagement.
Nearly $2.28 billion will fund zero-emissions port equipment and infrastructure to reduce mobile source emissions. Funding uses include human-operated zero-emission cargo handling equipment, harbor craft and other vessels, and electric charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure.
Among the goals are to advance next-generation, clean technologies that will more safely and efficiently drive goods and passenger movement at the nation's ports.
The California congressional delegation was instrumental in the process, Garcia and Sen. Alex Padilla wrote in a letter dated Oct. 6.
The letter noted that the San Pedro Bay ports “have significantly reduced emissions by 90% for diesel particulate matter, 63% for nitrogen oxides and 97% for sulfur oxides under their joint Clean Air Action Plan.”
Still ahead is the deadline to transition port drayage truck fleets to zero emissions by 2035.