California’s public ports are committed to maintaining environmentally sound maritime practices and developing environmentally-friendly port operations. The ports employ environmental planning departments to ensure compliance with state, regional, and local regulations and in many cases, the ports exceed state and federal requirements. California’s ports work regularly with local jurisdictions, local communities and other interests to pursue long-term solutions to goods movement challenges, including the protection of our environment.

Improving air quality, protecting water quality and enhancing wildlife protection are among California’s highest priorities, and our public ports have been creating ambitious, innovative and cutting-edge programs to do just that.

Examples include:

• The Port of Long Beach has adopted an aggressive and comprehensive Green Port Policy dedicated to reducing the harmful effects of port-related operations;
• The Port of Los Angeles created a No Net Increase Task Force which compiled a list of 68 measures to reduce emissions from port activity;
• The Port of Oakland’s Clean Air Program, includes a truck re-powering program to provide cash incentives to truckers for replacing dirty engines with newer, cleaner engines;
• Jointly, the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles recently adopted a Clean Air Action Plan which outlines a comprehensive approach to mitigating the air quality impacts of goods movement activities;
• Several of California’s ports are actively pursuing the development of shore-side power operations so that some ships can “plug-in” instead of burning fuel while at dock;
• The Port of Stockton is developing and implementing an Environmental Initiatives Program that identifies opportunities for the port to enhance conditions in the Delta;
• Some years ago, the Humboldt Bay harbor District implemented the first ballast water exchange program on the west coast of North America, to guard against the introduction of invasive species through ship ballast water;
• The Port of San Diego, in conjunction with the US Navy, recently prepared a Natural Resource Management Plan for San Diego Bay to assist in restoration, conservation and management planning; and created the Bay-Wide Water Quality Monitoring Program which provides valuable water quality data for the San Diego Bay.

California’s ports are proud of their efforts to protect our environment. And those efforts have had real, visible and lasting benefits. The San Pedro Bay is healthier today than it was during the 1970s, due in part to award-winning storm water pollution prevention programs established by our ports. Today, the Port of Los Angeles boasts the best water quality of any industrialized port in the world and the number of birds in the San Pedro harbor has more than doubled since the 1970s.

Although much remains to be done, our ports have adopted ambitious plans and are implementing aggressive programs to protect and enhance our environment. California’s public ports are striving daily to improve air quality, to facilitate water quality protection, and to expand wildlife and habitat conservation.

(Please visit individual port websites to read more about each port’s environmental programs).