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During their April 27 meeting, the Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority authorized use of nearly $1.5 million from EPA's National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance program to reimburse Maersk Line for use of cleaner fuel.

Commissioners approved using $1,497,909 of EPA's National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program funds to reimburse Maersk Line for the differential cost of lower emissions fuel on the shipping line's vessels calling at Port Authority wharves.

The National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program was set up to support the implementation of verified and certified diesel emission reduction technologies.

Funded projects are required to achieve significant reductions in diesel emissions, particularly from fleets operating in areas designated as having poor air quality.

Last November, Maersk Line and EPA's Office of International Affairs conducted a fuel switching demonstration project using low sulphur fuel on commercial cargo vessels at Houston's port and two other ports in Mexico.

The project was designed to show the effectiveness of using lower-sulphur fuels in ocean-going vessels and to calculate the air pollutant emissions reductions achieved by switching from high to lower sulphur marine fuel.

In other meeting news, commissioners also approved amending Tariff No. 8 to provide for a special dockage rate for barges to lay at port authority wharves while awaiting loading or discharge docks within the Port of Houston and increase the free time for inbound direct discharge steel to 15 days. These changes would take effect on May 1.