Ingram Barge Company received the Southeast Diesel Collaborative “Leadership Award” for its environmental sustainability efforts utilizing advanced clean diesel technology on towboats operating on the inland river system.
Ingram was recognized as a private industry leader in the national effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. An award also went to Miami-Dade County, Florida, government in the “community leader” category.
The awards were announced at the Collaborative’s sixth annual Partners Meeting involving the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal, state and local government agencies, non-profits, and industry organizations.
Ingram is the largest inland marine transportation company in the U.S. moving nearly 100 million tons of cargo annually on our nation’s rivers.
Ingram’s David Sehrt, Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, accepted the award, saying water transportation is “the most environmentally friendly mode of bulk transportation.”
“Our long-term commitment to air emissions reduction spans 15 years through a diesel engine upgrade and replacement program within our fleet of 130 towboats,” he said.
“Ingram associates live and work on our nation’s inland waterways, as have generations of our families. We try to work toward partnerships and innovative ways that will reduce emissions in our communities. With diesel engines being the workhorse of our industry, the focus is toward technologies and enhancements that accomplish these reductions.”
Ingram’s partners in the current effort include the Mississippi River Corridor-Tennessee, the project sponsor, which works on economic development and land and wildlife preservation in the six West Tennessee counties that border the Mississippi River.
Other partners are Environmental Solutions Worldwide Inc. and Alfa Laval, manufacturers of the ESW XtrmCat TM DOC Kit that is used on Ingram vessels, and EMISSTAR LLC, the emissions consulting services firm.
In November, Emisstar reported
emission reductions from Ingram’s use of the DOC Kit equipment ranging from 20 to 60 percent with no effect on engine performance and fuel economy.
The Southeast Diesel Collaborative is a public-private partnership composed of stakeholders from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. It is part of EPA’s National
Clean Diesel Campaign, a program combining regulatory measures with voluntary initiatives to reduce the pollution emitted from diesel engines across the country.
In 2010, Ingram was named as one of the first marine transportation companies to be accepted as a partner in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Program. This EPA program, launched in 2004, was created to identify products and services that reduce transportation related emissions. The program quickly spread to partnerships with government, businesses and consumers – all resulting in measurable air-quality improvements or greenhouse gas reductions.