&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Air and Radiation
EPA420-F-96-011
July 1996
Office of Mobile Sources
Environmental
Fact Sheet
in
The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are among the
busiest in the world, and emissions from marine vessels are
recognized to have a significant impact on ambient air quality
in the South Coast Air Basin. The 1990 emissions from marine
vessels operating in the South Coast Air Basin have been
estimated to be in the range of 30 to 40 tons of oxides of
nitrogen (NQx) per day. Although ocean-going vessels (e.g.,
container ships, various cargo carriers, tankers) are the
largest source of emissions in the marine vessel category,
harbor vessels (e.g., tugboats, commercial fishing vessels,
ere w/supply boa ts) are also significan t con tributers. These
vessels typically have a useful life of up to thirty years.
Because attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality
Standards in the South Coast will require reductions from
every source of emissions, evaluating options for additional
reductions from marine vessels and ports will continue to be
necessary for the foreseeable future. Currently, international
and national standards for marine diesel engines are under
development.
International
Maritime
Organization
Previous
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been an
active participant in the International Maritime Organization's
(IMO's) negotiations of a new Annex VI to the International
Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL
-------
73/78), which will reduce NOx from marine diesel engines. The
MARPOL standards are expected to reduce NOx emissions by 30
percent per engine (compared to current engines) and will apply to
all engines installed on or after January 1, 2000. These standards will
apply to the majority of foreign-flagged ocean-going vessels which
stop at the South Coast ports. MARPOL 73/78 prevents EPA from
setting lower emission standards for engines on vessels subject to
that treaty.
Federal
Implementation
Plan
EPA's May 1994 Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) proposal
included the proposed emission standards set by IMO. Because the
I MO standards alone would not achieve the desired reductions, the
FIP proposal contained several additional programs. A fee-based
incentive program was proposed to accelerate replacement of older
engines with newer, cleaner engines. The fee would be reduced for
vessels meeting the IMO standards and eliminated for vessels using
cleaner engines. The FIP also proposed that all vessels use land-
based sources of power ("cold iron") when moored in port. Finally,
the FIP recognized some additional reductions from port infrastruc-
ture improvements and from reducing the speed of vessels as they
approach the port.
Concerned that the proposal would reduce port traffic, the Ports
proposed an alternative plan that include some of the FIP proposal
elements (i.e., IMO standards, cold ironing of tugs, reducing the
speed limit, and infrastructure improvements). However, it dropped
the fee-based incentive program and proposed moving the ship
traffic from the current 5 miles to 25 miles.
In February 1995, EPA finalized the FIP measure for marine vessels.
The FIP included the pending IMO standards, along with measures
to reduce speed and cold iron tugs. In addition, EPA committed to
consult with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard to explore moving
the ship traffic; however, these efforts were dropped when the FIP
was rescinded by the U.S. Congress in April 1995.
The California
Ozone
Implementation
Plan
In November 1994, the State of California adopted the 1994
California Ozone State Implementation Plan. Measure M13 -
National and International Emission Standards called on EPA to
reduce marine emissions by approximately 30 percent from 1990
levels by 2010. The reductions would be achieved from a
-2-
-------
combination of the programs proposed in the FIP: IMO standards,
moving ship traffic further from shore, reducing speeds, more
stringent engine standards for domestic marine engines not subject to
IMO, and local measures which encourage cleaner engines or
reduced emissions.
Domestic
In November 1994, EPA proposed new national standards for diesel
marine engines on domestic vessels not subject to IMO standards.
The proposal consists of two parts. For low and medium sized
engines used on ocean-going marine vessels flagged in the U.S., the
IMO standards would apply. For high speed marine diesel engines
used exclusively in U.S. waters, the proposal recommended that a
more stringent standard apply to new engines manufactured in 1999
and 2000, depending on size. EPA is awaiting the outcome of the
IMO process before it finalizes this rule.
Public Meetings
Input
Requested
The Public
One of the purposes of the public consultative process is to have all
stakeholders work together to identify the best options for achieving
further emissions reductions from ports and marine vessels to the
extent they are needed for attainment of the ozone health standard in
the South Coast. The process will also identify the appropriate
parties responsible for adopting and implementing the controls
expeditiously.
A series of public meetings have been scheduled to compliment
ongoing processes as well as initiate new discussions on how to
reduce emissions from various categories of mobile sources. In
October 1996, EPA expects to hold a second public meeting which
will include discussion of pending national and international ship
controls and begin discussions of innovative approaches for
achieving additional reductions. More details on this meeting will be
sent out in the next two months.
EPA wants your involvement on this process and would like to hear
about any ideas you may have to help make this process a success.
We also want to hear about ongoing efforts to look at reducing
emissions from ports and marine vessel engines. Please call Julia
Barrow at (415) 744-1230 with any comments or questions about the
process.
------- |