Reducing Marine Shipping Emissions

APCD has worked to raise awareness of the problem at the state level, with the California Air Resources Board, and the California Association of Air Pollution Control Officers, and at the national level at the USEPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality. APCD also develops briefing papers for elected officials to assist them in bringing wider attention to the issue regionally, nationally and internationally.

In June of 2003, APCD presented a paper on marine shipping emissions at the annual conference of the national Air & Waste Management Association (AWMA). The paper details the magnitude of the problem, and presents options to reduce shipping emissions (download the paper here).

In April 2004, APCD presented a revised version of the marine shipping paper, updated to include emission inventory data of 2002. The paper was presented at the AWMA West Coast Region Conference on Marine Port Air Quality Impacts.

APCD also presented the Santa Barbara case study on emissions from marine shipping activities recently to a local AWMA chapter, to the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District, and to the Channel Islands Naturalist Corps. Presentations can be downloaded below.

APCD is involved with other organizations in developing both near-term and long-term emission-reduction strategies.

Local Action

The APCD Board has taken several actions relating to marine shipping activities. The timeline below provides brief summaries of these actions. The files for the Board items can be downloaded below.

APCD Marine Shipping Related Board Actions
July 2001	Board approves international marine vessel resolution.
November 2001	Board adopts 2001 Clean Air Plan.
February 2002	Board receives update on marine shipping emissions.
April 2002	Board receives update on APCD efforts to reduce emissions from marine shipping activities.
June 2002	Board receives update on MSRP and comments on EPA marine engine rulemaking.
January 2003	Board Chair signs letters to the Chair and Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee urging ratification of IMO Annex VI.
October 2003	Board receives update on MSRP efforts and approves $100k for MSRP.
December 2004	Board adopts 2004 Clean Air Plan.
August 2006	Board approves APCD role as collector and distributor of emissions testing funds for a project demonstrating emission control retrofit technologies on an ocean-going vessel.
October 2006	Board authorizes the APCD Director to execute agreements for the in-use emission testing of an ocean-going vessel retrofitted with emissions control technologies using partner contributions and up to $22,500 of APCD Innovative Technology Group funds.
March 2007	Board adopted a resolution recognizing the magnitude of, and the projected growth in, international marine vessel emissions, and directed the Air Pollution Control Officer to take necessary actions to mitigate emissions from this source. Download letter and resolution (PDF file).
August 2007	Board adopts 2007 Clean Air Plan.
October 2007	Board approves letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filing notice of intent to sue over EPA's failure to regulate large ships.
December 2007	Board directs the Air Pollution Control Officer and APCD Counsel to sue EPA for failure to adopt standards regulating air pollution from Category 3 marine vessels.
January 2008	Board directs the Air Pollution Control Officer and APCD Counsel to file second lawsuit over EPA failure to adopt standards regulating air pollution from Category 3 marine vessels.

Presentations (PDF files)

September 12, 2006 presentation by Tom Murphy to the Maritime Air Quality Working Group at the Port of Long Beach.
July 18, 2006 presentation by Tom Murphy to Channel Islands Naturalist Corps (large file, @ 5.6 MB).
November 22, 2005 presentation by Tom Murphy to Ventura County Air Pollution Control District.
September 21, 2005 presentation on Marine Shipping Emissions by Tom Murphy to the local chapter of the Air & Waste Management Association.
April 21 and 22, 2004 presentation by Tom Murphy at the West Coast Region Conference on Marine Port Air Quality Impacts, Seattle, Washington.

Legal Actions (PDF Files)

February 22, 2008 filing in U.S. District Court by APCD, Friends of the Earth, and South Coast Air Quality Management District

Comment Letters

February 22, 2008, letter to EPA submitting comments on EPA Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Control Emissions from New Marine Compression-Ignition Engines at or Above 30 Liters per Cylinder
December 21, 2007, letter to EPA in support of of the United States position on proposed amendments to the air pollution regulations in Annex VI of the MARPOL convention. (Letter is from Twenty Members of the United States West Coast Collaborative Marine Vessel and Ports Sector, including APCD.)
November 28, 2007 letter to Senator Barbara Boxer, in support of HR 802, Marine Pollution Prevention Act
November 28, 2007 letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein, in support of HR 802, Marine Pollution Prevention Act
November 28, 2007 letter to Representative Lois Capps, in support of HR 802, Marine Pollution Prevention Act
October 18, 2007 letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency filing notice of intent to sue EPA.
May 25 letter from APCD to Senator Barbara Boxer, in support of the Marine Vessel Emissions Reduction Act of 2007.
May 25 letter from APCD to Congresswoman Hilda Solis, in support of the Marine Vessel Emissions Reduction Act of 2007.
May 8, 2007 letter from APCD to EPA with comments on EPA Change in regulatory deadline for rulemaking on marine engines.
May 4, 2007 letter from CAPCOA (California Air Pollution Control Officers Association) to EPA with comments on EPA Change in regulatory deadline for rulemaking on marine engines.
March 23, 2007 letter to Alan Lowenthal, California State Senate in support of Senate Bill 974 – Financing of Port Congestion Relief and Port Mitigation Relief.
November 9, 2006 to California Air Resources Board on the Alternative Compliance Plan included as part of the auxiliary engine Air Toxic Control Measure developed by Air Resources Board.
May 9, 2006 to Senator Commerce Committee to support favorable and expeditious processing of the implementation language required for US ratification of Annex VI, “Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships,” of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) MARPOL.
November 18, 2005 letter to ARB on effort to consider the adoption of proposed regulations to reduce emissions from auxiliary diesel engines and diesel-electric engines operated on ocean-going vessels within California waters and 24 nautical miles of the California baseline.
November 4, 2005 letter to Governor Schwarzenegger re: Goods Movement
August 24, 2004 APCD comments to the USEPA regarding Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Control of Emissions of Air Pollution from New Locomotive Engines and New Marine Compression-Ignition Engines Less Than 30 Liters per Cylinder.
August 19, 2004 Comments on California Resource Agency's draft "California Ocean Resources Management: A Strategy for Action"
Letter of June 6, 2002, from APCD to USEPA with comments on the draft rule addressing large ship engines.

APCD Board Actions Related to Marine Shipping (PDF files unless otherwise noted)

January 23, 2008 (news release on this site) Announcement of Board Approval of Suit of EPA.
October 22, 2007 (news release on this site) Announcement of Board Approval of Filing of Intent to Sue EPA.
October 19, 2006 - Board authorizes the APCD Director to execute agreements for the in-use emission testing of an ocean-going vessel retrofitted with emissions control technologies using partner contributions and up to $22,500 of APCD Innovative Technology Group funds.
August 17, 2006 - Board approves APCD role as collector and distributor of emissions-testing funds for a project demonstrating emission-control retrofiit technologies on an ocean-going vessel.
December 16, 2004 - Board adopts 2004 Clean Air Plan (view and download from this page on this site, see Chapter 6 for information on marine shipping emissions).
October 16, 2003 - Board allocates $100,000 for the Retrofit Program
January 16, 2003 - Board Chair signs letters to the Chair and Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee urging ratification if IMO Annex VI.
June 20, 2002 - Board receives update on MSRP and comments on EPA marine engine rulemaking (see also, comment letter).
April 18, 2002 - Board receives update on APCD efforts to reduce emissions from marine shipping activities.
February 21, 2002 - Board receives update on marine shipping emissions.
November 15, 2001 - Board adopts 2001 Clean Air Plan. To view the Plan, see this page on this site.
July 19, 2001 - Board approves international marine vessel resolution.

Articles and Papers

"Air Pollution Grows as Vessel Regulations Flounder," by Terry Dressler, in the Santa Barbara Independent May 17, 2007.
"Next Challenge on the Horizon: Air Pollution Emissions from Ships," by Terry Dressler, Tom Murphy, and Anthony Fournier, August 2006.
"Controlling Air Emissions from Marine Vessels: Problems and Opportunities," by Anthony Fournier, and supported by the University of California Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation.
Seattle Times article Tuesday, September 28, 2004.

"The Need to Reduce Marine Shipping Emissions: A Santa Barbara County Case Study," by Tom Murphy, Ray McCaffrey, and Kathy Patton for the 2003 Air & Waste Management Association Conference.
Articles in APCD's On the Air Newsletter (see July 2001, January 2002, July 2002, and Fall 2003).
Briefing paper for January 2002 meetings with USEPA and U.S. Maritime Administration officials, in connection with Workshop on Maritime Energy and Clean Emissions conference sponsored by the USEPA, the U.S. Maritime Administration, and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Fact sheet on the Marine Shipping Retrofit Program

Note: listing of outside links and information resources here should not be seen as an endorsement of the information by APCD.

* See How to View and Download Documents for information on PDF file formats for downloads.

APCD Contacts

Tom Murphy, Technology and Environmental Assessment Division Manager, 805-961-8857

Dr. Ron Tan, Planning & Technology Supervisor, 805-961-8812

Regional Issues Air Pollution from Marine Shipping - Local Studies and Actions Page last updated June 20, 2008.

Regional Issues
Air Pollution from Marine Shipping - Local Studies and Actions
Page last updated June 20, 2008.