As our state, nation, and the world contend with the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Port of Baltimore has remained open for business. The maritime industry supply chain is critically important to restocking our shelves and helping to deliver medicines and medical supplies. The Port’s dedicated, professional transportation workers are essential and remain on the front lines at work to ensure our basic needs are met, and the economy can begin to recover.  

Ports all over the world are seeing the impacts of this health crisis, and the Port of Baltimore is no different. “Under Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s leadership, measures are in place to control the spread of the virus and protect human lives. Social distancing and safety precautions are being strictly practiced. Extra daily cleaning has become the new normal to keep people safe and business moving. Our security partners, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection, are focused on screening vessels and crews to keep us all safe while giving clearance priorities to legitimate medical and safety supplies, while dutifully inspecting and intercepting illegal shipments coming into our port. The Steamship Trade Association of Baltimore and Ports America Chesapeake have instituted temperature screening procedures at the Seagirt Marine Terminal,” said Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Port Administration’s (MDOT MPA) General Manager of Safety, Environment & Risk Management (SERM) Bill Richardson.  

Dredging operations continue to assure that navigational safety standards are maintained. “Keeping the Port of Baltimore open for business by ensuring shipping channels are deep enough to accommodate cargo ships and providing safe passage for vessels through the Chesapeake Bay has always been vitally important, and this work has continued during the pandemic,” said MDOT MPA’s Director of the Office of Harbor Development Kristen Fidler. “Now we sense a spotlight shining on this work as consumers are realizing with gratitude the dedicated workers and efforts that make possible the flow of important goods.”

MDOT MPA recently published its 2019 GreenPort Annual Review. The retrospective takes a look at some of the Port’s many accomplishments during 2019, including environmental, economic, and community outreach milestones. 

“The Port has never been more productive, and this record breaking year [2019] shows its tremendous value as a regional economic engine creating good paying, family supporting jobs for tens of thousands of Marylanders,” said Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. 

2019 highlights included: 

• A record 43.6 million tons of cargo was handled, including more than 11 million tons of general cargo at the state-owned public terminals. 
• Innovative stormwater restoration projects through a partnership between MDOT MPA and The Maryland Zoo to stop erosion, provide habitat for local wildlife, and improve the quality of water that flows into the Jones Falls and ultimately into the Chesapeake Bay. 

During this past winter, MES partnered with the Tilghman Elementary After School Kids Program on a four-part series enrichment program. Educators developed and presented lessons focusing on environmental issues and MDOT MPA’s restoration work at the nearby Paul S. Sarbanes Ecosystem Restoration Project at Poplar Island. 

The interactive STEM lessons in the program included building a cargo ship with recycled materials and testing how much cargo it could hold, restoring an island using natural materials to prevent erosion, and learning the positive impacts of terrapin and bird populations associated with the restoration of Poplar Island.   

“Poplar Island is roughly 5 miles northwest of Tilghman Island. In the mid-1800s, Poplar Island boasted more than 1,100 acres, but by the 1920s residents began leaving the island as more and more of its landmass fell victim to erosion,” said MES Senior Environmental Specialist Kristina Motley. “We are grateful for the partnership with Tilghman Elementary. It is important to share the story of Poplar Island’s environmental lessons and achievements with area youth.” 

As schools across Maryland shut their doors and shifted to e-learning to help stop the spread of COVID-19, Living Classrooms Foundation staff at Masonville Cove stepped up to find creative ways to continue to provide educational opportunities for Baltimore City students.  

Maryland state agencies, community leaders, businesses, and non-governmental organizations are all pitching in to improve air quality. Through a unique voluntary agreement signed in 2015 between MDOT, MDOT MPA, and the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), the agencies formally committed to develop and implement projects that reduce emissions or increase energy efficiency. The help and support of citizens, businesses, and stakeholders are an important part of this effort. 

Recently, the interagency workgroup published a summary of 2019 accomplishments, which included $1.8 million (a total of $11 million since 2008) in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grants for the Port of Baltimore to upgrade and buy new diesel equipment and vehicles with lower emissions to achieve better air quality. Additionally, in 2019 the workgroup helped facilitate Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Environmental Mitigation Trust funding for potential emission reducing projects at the Port and nearby locations such as Canton Railroad, Ports America Chesapeake, T. Parker Host, the Baltimore Compost Collective, and Marshall’s Trash Removal.  

Read more here. 

A popular and successful program that engages Maryland students and teachers in conservation by giving terrapins a “head start” in classrooms typically ends with a field trip for students to help release their terrapins on Poplar Island. During this time of physical distancing, MES helped the partnership take the terrapin release virtual.  

For the first time, MES, MDOT MPA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the National Aquarium, AACPS’s Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center, and CHESPAX (the environmental education program for Calvert County Public Schools)  shared the release with students who were e-learning from home via video.  

“It certainly wasn’t quite the same, and we were sad the children could not explore Poplar Island and see their turtles released in person, but the environmental education team did a great job demonstrating some behind-the-scenes activities associated with the program and providing a virtual opportunity for students to experience the release,” said MDOT MPA’s Outreach Coordinator for Harbor Development Katrina Jones.  

During their time in the classroom, the turtles grow to the size of a 3- to 5-year-old wild terrapin. By giving the hatchlings a head start, the students hope to give them a better chance of survival once they are released back into the wild on Poplar Island.  

Since 2005, a total of 2,950 terrapins have been head-started. This academic year there were 141 terrapins in the program. Brighten your day by watching the video here. 

On May 13, 2020, the Citizens Advisory Committee and Harbor Team held a joint virtual meeting. Nearly 50 people participated. 

Guest presenters included South Baltimore Gateway Partnership Executive Director Brad Rogers who shared an update on the Middle Branch redesign, an effort to reconnect the South Baltimore community with the Middle Branch. “We want to connect the South Baltimore neighborhood with the waterfront they’ve been divided from for so long. The Inner Harbor has a hard edge and the Middle Branch will have lots of beautifully landscaped common space right at the water’s edge.”  

MDOT MPA General Manager Strategic Initiatives Brad Smith also provided an update on the Howard Street Tunnel expansion project which will address a long-standing bottleneck and create a double-stack rail network to and from the Port of Baltimore and along the entire I-95 Rail Corridor.

Additionally, there was discussion regarding the innovative reuse program. Currently, proposals for new innovative reuse projects are being submitted and reviewed. MDOT MPA is also working closely with the Turner Station Conservation Teams on the implementation of the first phase of the Fleming Park Restoration project. 

Funding was included in the USACE federal fiscal year 2020 work plan for the Mid-Chesapeake Bay Island Project, which will restore two eroding Chesapeake Bay islands, James and Barren. Sediment dredged from shipping channels will create more wildlife habitat and restore the ecosystem of these islands, providing protection from erosion by reducing wave heights. 

“Keeping the community engaged and informed about this exciting project to restore James and Barren islands is our top priority. MDOT MPA is working closely with USACE, area residents, and community groups in Dorchester County to provide information and updates on the Mid-Bay project,” said MDOT MPA Chief of Outreach, Policy, and Programs David Blazer.   

To help reach community members during this time of physical distancing, MDOT MPA produced a video providing an overview of the project.  

The federal workplan funding provides an additional $500,000 to continue planning and design. Surveys and geotechnical investigations to aid in the project design began in March and will continue over the next few months.