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At their Tuesday, June 7 meeting, The Northwest Seaport Alliance Managing Members will take action on funding for the Puget Sound Maritime Air Emissions Inventory (PSEI). The PSEI is a study done every five years to track emissions from maritime related activities in the Puget Sound airshed. The inventory has been a commitment under the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy since 2008 and studies have occurred in 2005, 2011, and 2016. If approved, the funding will begin the next scheduled PSEI.
Additionally, Managing Members will consider approving a funding increase for the shore power project at Terminal 3 & Terminal 4. The funding increase is needed due to higher material costs, wage increases from labor shortages, supply chain issues, and commodity price increases.
The meeting will include first readings on the Terminal 18 South Olympic Tug and Barge lease renewal, the U.S. Coast Guard Lease Agreement at Terminal 46 and BNSF Railway Company Lease. Commissioners will also hear a Truck Briefing covering various trucking impacts in the Seattle/Tacoma gateway. The briefing will cover environmental impacts, truck parking, worker conditions, and potential funding and policy opportunities pertaining to trucks.
View the full agenda.
The in-person special meeting begins at 11:00 a.m at 2711 Alaskan Way at Port of Seattle. Meetings are also streamed live from the NWSA’s website.
To deliver comments by phone during the public comment portion of the meeting, please send an email to nwsacomment@nwseaportallianice.com by 9:00 a.m. Monday, June 6, 2022 that includes your name, and the agenda topic you wish to speak to. Please include “speaker” in the subject line. Written comments may be submitted to the same email address.
For more than five decades, Mazda vehicles have been imported through the Seattle and Tacoma gateway. The Northwest Seaport Alliance recognizes Mazda’s distinct history in the Pacific Northwest dating back to April 14, 1970, when the first Mazda vehicle was imported into the Pacific Northwest through Seattle. Nearly a decade later Mazda vehicles started being imported through Tacoma making Mazda the longest standing automobile customer in Tacoma.
Mazda’s commitment to moving vehicles through Seattle and Tacoma has benefitted the entire region. Take a look at more of Mazda’s history in our gateway here.
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NWSA April volumes were impacted by ongoing COVID-related lockdowns at key origin ports in China. April 2021 was also a near-record volume month for imports, which artificially amplifies year-over-year comparisons. April 2022 volumes decreased 12.2% to 266,635 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), with full imports declining 18.1% and full exports declining 22% year-over-year. Read more here.
This week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin accepting applications for the Commodity Container Assistance Program (CCAP). Ongoing market disruptions have created logistical challenges which have prevented or delayed American-grown agricultural commodities from reaching their markets.
The USDA and NWSA partnership was announced in late March for ag producers utilizing the Terminal 46 near-dock storage yard. Containers full of ag products can pre-position at Terminal 46 and be reimbursed for portions of the added storage costs. The USDA held a webinar with ag producers that utilize the NWSA gateway earlier this week where instructions for redeeming container reimbursements were provided.
“Both the Port of Oakland and the NWSA in Seattle have been identified as key gateways for American-grown agricultural commodities, and each has experienced significant challenges with the flow of containerized agricultural commodities and products,” Secretary Vilsack said. “While USDA’s per-container reimbursements will not cover the full cost of moving and storing shipping containers, the assistance provided will help ensure American-grown agricultural products can once again efficiently move through supply chains to reach global markets.”
Learn more here.
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The NWSA Co-Chairs signed a letter to Secretary Kerry and Director Lantz urging support for the U.S. Delegation to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to secure consensus around an accelerated greenhouse gas emission reduction strategy.
Global support is growing for the maritime sector’s transition towards total decarbonization by 2050. The NWSA urged setting interim targets for 2030 and 2040, implementing market-based mechanisms and other policies as soon as possible, to achieve mid- and long-term greenhouse gas reductions, and incentivizing the development and deployment of cleaner marine fuels.
The IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee begins next Monday, June 6th. Read the full letter here.
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Join the last webinar in Washington Trucking Associations' 'Zevinar' Series:
The Need for National Perspective
June 9th at 4:00 PM PT
The push for electrification is happening throughout the county. This 'Zevinar' will be looking at the need for national standards and objectives as well as the complication that a patchwork of city, county and local policies creates. Hear from Mike Gerty the Director of Advanced Research at PACCAR Inc., Suzanne Betker the VP of Emobility Solutions at EnTech Solutions, Ashley Horvat the VP Head of eMobility, NAM at Schneider Electric, and John Thornton the President at CleanFuture, Inc.
Register here.
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