The Port of Oakland has joined four other ports from throughout the region in an effort to reduce air pollution resulting from operations. The Bay Area’s busiest port, which is also the fourth-biggest container port in the nation, is joining with the ports of Richmond, Benicia, Redwood City and San Francisco to form the Bay Area Seaports Air Emissions Survey.
A steering committee comprised of representatives from the ports, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and Bay Planning Coalition is being formed to coordinate efforts to reduce emissions from port-related activities, which has been identified as a major priority by the California Air Resources Board, the newspaper reported.
The Port of Oakland’s board of commissioners approved their organization’s participation in the project on March 4. Marilyn Sandifur, a Port of Oakland spokeswoman, says the coalition of the area’s major ports along with environmental organizations and public agencies will promote a regular, standardized collection of pollution data.
