Following EPA’s January announcement of updated Best Clean Air Practices for Ports webpages, the Rail Facility and Ocean-Going Vessels Best Practices pages have been added to the series, providing information on best practices at ports to reduce diesel pollution and associated health impacts. While the examples included in the webpages are not exhaustive, they are intended to highlight some of the more effective strategies that have been adopted by U.S. ports.

The webpages include:

• An overview of each best practice;
• Related technical resources; 
• Tips on collecting data and setting performance targets; and
• Descriptions of real-world examples.

Rail Facility Best Practices to Improve Air Quality

Rail facilities play an important role for freight operations, the economy and air quality. Emission sources at rail facilities include switchers that assemble and disassemble trains and line-haul locomotives that move cargo long distances.

Practices on this webpage include:

• Reducing idle emissions from locomotives;
• Upgrading older locomotives; and
• Minimizing locomotive activity near at-risk populations

Ocean-Going Vessel (OGV) Best Practices to Improve Air Quality

OGVs play an important role in port operations, the economy and air quality. OGVs move cargo and people into and out of a port and typically travel long distances between foreign or domestic ports. 

Practices included on this webpage include:

• Implementing a vessel speed reduction (VSR) program;

• Reducing vessel turnaround time; and

• Using shore power

Post Feedback and Questions Through September 30, 2021 on GitHub

EPA released a beta version of Marine Emissions Tools, a set of R packages designed to calculate emissions from Category 3 commercial marine vessels (CMVs), such as tankers and general cargo ships in a manner consistent with EPA's regulations and Port Emissions Inventory Guidance.



Emissions from CMVs are a critical input to developing comprehensive emissions inventories for ports. This updated toolset will improve the accuracy of emissions estimates from CMVs and make it easier for stakeholders to develop inventories in a manner consistent with EPA guidance. The tools may be used for regulatory, voluntary and research purposes.

Download EPA’s Marine Emissions Tools - Beta Version  

Install Tools Directly from GitHub

In March 2021, EPA launched a new interactive map highlighting clean air practices at ports.The map was updated in June 2021 to include information on four additional ports, as well as updated information about clean air practices at other ports such as DERA grants awarded in 2011 and 2012. Ports added with this update are the Mid-America Port Commission, Port Freeport, Port of Vancouver USA, and South Jersey Port which are featured in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics latest Port Performance Freight Statistics: Annual Report to Congress in 2019.

Built by the EPA Ports Initiative, the tool brings together real-world examples of emissions reduction activities as well as key practices featured in the Best Port-Wide Planning Practices to Improve Air Quality webpage.