Georgia port authority earns EPA award for emission-reduction efforts

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) recently won the Community Leadership Award from the Southeast Diesel Collaborative (SEDC) for its efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

A public-private partnership formed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Region 4 office, the SEDC presents the award annually to recognize projects that improve air quality and public health by reducing diesel-engine emissions. 

"The GPA has voluntarily undertaken many projects to decrease diesel fuel consumption, resulting in improved air quality," said GPA Executive Director Curtis Foltz in a press release. "Some of those projects include our innovative electric rubber-tired gantry (RTG) cranes, the repower of diesel RTGs with variable alternators and the retrofit of 11 switch locomotives."

The locomotive project involved retrofitting 11 switchers operating at GPA terminals through an EPA grant awarded to Rail Link, the authority's rail partner. Rail Link retrofitted locomotives manufactured from 1957 to 1978 with automatic stop/start units to decrease idling.

"Each year, the GPA conserves more than 7.2 million gallons of diesel through efficient equipment upgrades and energy savings programs," said GPA Chairman Robert Jepson.