Clearing the Air at the Ports

The ill wind blowing through the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles comes from container ships that each day belch tons of diesel particulate matter and gases. In addition to being inhaled by the ports’ immediate neighbors, the fouled air moves inland dozens of miles to cast a pall over millions. So a proposal that could noticeably cut emissions from ships docked at the ports is cause for cheering, even if it is only a start.

The ports are the local linchpin in international trade, which anchors Southern California’s economy by accounting for 420,000 jobs across the region. Port operators and shipping lines foresee 6% annual increases in the number of containers passing through the ports. Good news for the economy but potentially bad for clean air.

Cleaning up the waterfront is not an easy sell. There is a worldwide glut of cargo ships, so cash-strapped owners resist buying pollution-control devices. The United States can do little to force foreign owners to clean up their diesel fleets. No single agency has port jurisdiction, and international, federal, state, regional and local authorities have not yet agreed on ways to act in concert. Nobody, of course, wants to throttle back the region’s most important economic engine.

Against that backdrop, any progress is notable. Executives at some of the world’s largest shipping lines are talking about shutting down big ships’ dirty diesel engines while the vessels are in port and drawing power from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power grid. Shipping lines could recoup their considerable equipment costs through energy savings, the DWP would get a new customer and Southern Californians could breathe easier.

During his Friday “state of the harbor” address, L.A. Mayor James K. Hahn promised that a third of the ports’ own vehicles and equipment would be replaced with lower-emissions alternatives.

Under financial incentives offered by the state and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, tugboat owners are already installing cleaner-burning diesel engines. Shipping lines are eliminating two tons of emissions daily simply by slowing down ships as they enter and leave the harbor. New federal regulations mean that old diesel-powered trucks gradually will be replaced with cleaner models.

Right now, however, the ports are the region’s single worst air pollution problem. On an average day, 16 cargo ships anchored at the ports release more smog-forming gases than 1 million cars. Diesel-powered tugboats, yard tractors and trucks add to the pollution mix.

Taxpayers have poured tens of billions of dollars into improvements at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. The port’s operators, shipping lines, longshore workers and others with an interest in the waterfront can return the favor by working with regulatory agencies to clean up their act.