For more than 300 years, Maryland’s Port of Baltimore has
handled the cargo that has built a city and
helped shape its home state and the country. The Port has six public
terminals and 30 private terminals
covering a 45-mile shoreline. Out of 361 U.S. ports, the Port of Baltimore
ranks 12th for dollar value of cargo and 14th for
total foreign cargo handled. The Port of Baltimore is located 150 miles
inland
making it the closest East Coast port to the Midwest. It is accessible to
nearby major interstate highways, and is served by two Class 1 railroads
that can travel to any distant location.
By truck, more than two-thirds of the U.S. population is accessible within a
single overnight drive.
More than 42,000 direct, indirect, or induced jobs are generated by Port
activities while an additional 80,000 jobs are related to Port
activities.
The Maryland Port
Administration (MPA) was created in 1956 to modernize and promote the Port
of
Baltimore, and to stimulate the flow of waterborne commerce through the
State of Maryland in a manner that provides economic benefit to Maryland
citizens. Toward this end, MPA owns (and in some cases leases all or
portions of) six major marine terminals (Dundalk, Seagirt, North Locust
Point, South Locust Point, Masonville, and Hawkins Point), four dredged
material containment facilities (Hart Miller Island,
Poplar Island, Cox Creek, and Masonville), and several ancillary facilities
(Clinton Street and the Baltimore World Trade Center).
The marine terminals vary in size, and are
all located north of the Francis Scott Key Bridge at sites along the
Patapsco River. These marine terminals handle a wide variety of cargo,
including, but not limited to, containers, automobiles, roll on/roll off
cargo such as farm and construction equipment, breakbulk such as forest
products, liquid bulk, and specialty cargos,
such as specialized product machinery. Some of the marine
terminals are multi-use facilities, handling several different types of
cargo, while others are single use facilities handling a single specialized
cargo. It should also be noted that part of the South Locust Point Marine
Terminal serves the cruise industry.
MPA is responsible for all of the facility,
fleet, and crane maintenance at these terminals, except when such
responsibilities are assumed by MPA’s tenants. Within the marine terminals,
MPA maintains approximately 73 buildings and 200 miles of facility
infrastructure. This includes water, sanitary and storm drains, 200 high
mast electrical light poles, the entire underground 13,000 volt electrical
distribution system, all rail lines, marine fendering, and piers. The MPA
Fleet Maintenance Department is comprised of more than 325 pieces of
equipment, which include
vehicles, trucks, off road
construction equipment, miscellaneous grounds maintenance equipment,
trailers, and several vessels. MPA also has a Crane Maintenance Department
that is responsible for servicing all cranes throughout MPA’s terminals.
As a first
step in developing its environmental program, MPA created a comprehensive
environmental policy, the main tenets of which are listed on the poster
below. To further MPA’s environmental
programs, the
organization is developing an Environmental Management System (EMS). An EMS
is based on a “Plan-Do-Check-Act” continuous improvement cycle of activity.
This constitutes an on-going process to determine activities and conditions
that impact the environment and how these impacts can be eliminated or
reduced to the greatest extent possible. After conducting a risk
assessment, MPA determined its priority should be to focus on
compliance-related issues. As such, MPA management decided that a
Compliance-Focused Environmental Management System was the correct tool
to ensure sustainable compliance and reduction or elimination of harmful
environmental impacts.
MPA chose to develop an EMS based on ISO 14001 which focused on compliance
for three main reasons:
·MPA is committed to pollution
prevention
and compliance with environmental
regulations. Through the processes
established in the EMS, MPA can identify
potential sources of pollution and
determine ways in which those sources
can be managed to prevent pollution.
·An EMS integrates continual
improvement; this aligns with MPA’s commitment to reap successive and
lasting accomplishments toward port-wide environmental protection.
·An EMS provides MPA with a
framework to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local environmental
laws and regulations.
The MPA’s EMS
will be the basis for many existing and upcoming port-wide environmental
initiatives.
Fence Line
The MPA originally selected the Dundalk Marine
Terminal as the fence line in January 2006. After further consideration the
Core Team decided to change the fence line from a geographical area to a
function area, which encompasses all of the marine terminals. Therefore, in
June 2007 the Crane, Facility, and Fleet Maintenance Departments, part of
the Operations Division, were selected as the fence line for the development
and implementation of the EMS.
Crane Maintenance Department
The Crane Maintenance Department is responsible for
maintaining cargo-handling cranes of the MPA in an optimized state in order
to provide productive, reliable, and safe operation for port customers.
This goal is accomplished by a work force of multi-talented crane
technicians who maintain and oversee the operation of the cranes on a 24/7
schedule. This highly trained work force provides this service to the three
marine terminals that have cargo-handling cranes: Dundalk, Seagirt, and
North Locust Point.
Facility Maintenance Department
The Facility Maintenance Department is
responsible for maintenance of buildings, wharfs, grounds,
and infrastructure at the Dundalk, Seagirt, Clinton Street, North Locust
Point, South Locust Point,
and Fairfield marine terminals which encompass approximately 1,500 acres.
The Facility
Maintenance employees are highly competent in the skilled trades including
high voltage electrical;
heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; carpentry; welding; underground
utilities; and plumbing.
These dedicated employees are on call 24/7 with the goal of maintaining
terminal operating
efficiencies and superior customer service.
Fleet Maintenance Department
The Fleet Maintenance Department’s role is to
maintain, repair, and service all automobiles, trucks,
heavy equipment, and vessels used by MPA. Fleet personnel, consisting of
highly trained automotive,
marine, and heavy equipment mechanics, are also responsible for the
maintenance and management of
pumps, fire pumps, and power generation equipment integral to life/safety,
security, and terminal gate
operation systems.
EMS Core Team
MPA established an EMS Core Team in January 2006
consisting of the following senior level managers:
·Manager of Safety & Risk
Management,
·Deputy Director of Engineering,
·Assistant General Manager of
Maintenance, and
·Manager of Port Operations
Services.
The
Core Team approves EMS procedures, assists with auditing and training, and
reports to the MPA’s Environmental Compliance Steering Committee (ECSC).
This committee is comprised of senior executives and includes:
·Deputy Executive Director, Chair,
·Director of Engineering,
·Deputy Director for Harbor
Development,
·Director of Operations, and
·Director of Maritime Commercial
Management.
The Core Team has the full support of the ECSC
and MPA Executive Director.
Key Drivers for Adopting an EMS
MPA Deputy Executive
Director M. Kathleen Broadwater
noted that “the Port of Baltimore is enabled by the tidal
waters of Chesapeake Bay, and therefore MPA and its
employees have a responsibility to be good stewards of
the Bay.” This stewardship ethic first played out in the
Port’s dredging program, where sediments were used for
beneficial uses such as restoration of eroding Bay
islands, wetland creation, and establishment of aquatic
habitat.
Developing an EMS was a logical next step in
institutionalizing the stewardship ethic. Building on MPA’s award winning
Harbor Team process for engaging stakeholders, Broadwater further believed
that an EMS would provide a good framework for discussions with a variety of
stakeholders who wished to understand more about Port operations and its
impact on the natural environment. Making MPA staff and port users aware of
their role in protecting and improving the environment was a significant
consideration. Additionally, MPA’s role in ensuring that Maryland’s Seaport
infrastructure is developed and managed in environmentally responsible ways
was a key factor in deciding to establish an EMS, as was MPA’s desire to
integrate a truly sustainable approach to managing Maryland’s deep water
Seaport. This sustainable approach is best characterized as a triple bottom
line through which Port managers consider the social and environmental value
of the Port to be as important as its economic value. For example, MPA
believes that protecting the environment can result in economic benefits to
the port, such as reducing energy consumption, reducing waste through
recycling, and leveraging resources by attracting to the Port of Baltimore
those world class shipping companies committed to improving the
environment. In recognizing the growth challenges facing all U.S. Seaports,
MPA Executive Director Jim White said “the manner in which we embrace the
people who live closest to our marine terminals, the environmental
community, and other users of the Chesapeake Bay will determine the very
fundamental question of whether we continue to grow as a Seaport.
Implementing an EMS in order to demonstrate that we can be good
environmental stewards is the right step for us to be taking as we prepare
for the Port’s future growth.”
Significant Aspects and Impacts
MPA initially assessed its activities and
environmental impacts within the program fence line in May 2006. Following
a September 2007 re-evaluation, MPA chose to focus on the following areas
and activities:
·Underground Storage Tank (UST)
management,
·Maintenance activities that occur
at all MPA facilities with significant impact or are subject to Federal,
state or local regulations,
·Stormwater Management Plans,
·Spill Prevention Control and
Countermeasures Plans, and
The Core Team considers environmental awareness
education for employees a priority. A primary
objective was to develop an EMS Manual and Procedures and ensure that all
MPA employees receive
training. Environmental awareness training is now required for all
employees and for contractors that
have the potential to cause significant environmental impact.
Several additional objectives and associated
targets have been identified by MPA and are described
below.
Objective
Target
1. Reduce air emissions from MPA
sources.
Conduct baseline emissions inventory.
Implement
demonstration projects to determine effectiveness of
emission reduction activities.
2. Increase MPA's recycling rate.
Increase recycling rate by 10% from 2006
rate.
3. Phase Out Underground Storage
Tanks (USTs) – Reduce the potential for
petroleum impacts to soil and
groundwater.
Have USTs removed and replaced with Above
Ground
StorageTanks (AST).
Benefits of Adopting an EMS
Benefits
to date from establishing an EMS include the following:
·Employee Awareness
Numerous benefits have been noted including an increased awareness of
environmental issues
and stewardship opportunities among MPA employees. All employees are
required to undergo basic
environmental awareness training and this has resulted in employees being
more proactive in identifying
and reporting potential environmental concerns.
·Enhanced Communication
The EMS development process has led to
shared ownership and improved communication on environmental issues and
opportunities. The EMS initiative has also engendered an increased
sense of community among MPA staff, as everyone
recognizes and appreciates that they are all working
towards a common goal.
MPA staff in different program areas have begun
to
informally share ideas about best practices for engaging
stakeholders. Finally, proactive outreach to MPA
tenants, such as providing them with information on
regulatory requirements and compliance assistance, has
resulted in greater awareness of the potential
environmental impacts of tenant operations.
Resources
MPA resources dedicated to the EMS program
includes time spent by the Core Team and Environmental
Compliance Steering Committee, as well as time spent by specific staff in
development and
implementation duties. Several other staff members have devoted
approximately 50 percent of their hours
to this effort. Labor costs of those involved in the project were
approximately $270,000 during a two-year
period. Consultant costs were approximately $500,000.
Lessons Learned
After initially selecting EMS approach based on
ISO 14001, MPA elected to develop and implement a
Compliance-Focused EMS. MPA proceeded in this manner after conducting a
risk assessment that
determined significant aspects/impacts were primarily compliance-focused.
As such, MPA management
decided that the issue of compliance should be paramount and felt that a
Compliance Focused EMS was
the correct tool necessary to ensure compliance.
Additionally, MPA desired to assist tenants with
their specific environmental compliance issues. MPA
has received great cooperation from the tenants and is continuing to work
with them to improve
environmental compliance throughout the entire Port of Baltimore. To make
this teamwork most effective,
MPA committed to achieving compliance within its own activities prior to or
concurrent to assisting
tenants with their issues.
Next Steps
Although the MPA always had policies and
procedures in place to adhere to environmental requirements,
it did not have a system to ensure ongoing maintenance or updates of
policies and procedures. The
EMS allows for the needed checks and audit of the system. The following
actions are planned as next
steps:
·Complete development and
implementation of the EMS,
·Perform supervisor EMS training
which will assist supervisors in defining their roles and
responsibilities in the EMS,
·Develop environmental management
plans and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for
significant aspects,
·Select and train EMS system and
compliance auditors, and
·Perform independent compliance
self audits and system audits; compliance audits will help
MPA determine what regulations or requirements need attention and system
audits will evaluate
the effectiveness of the system procedures.
MPA is committed to continually improving its
EMS program. While MPA has elected to not pursue ISO 14001 certification at
this time, that option is open for future consideration.
