Us Epa News

If nothing else, building vessels in the U.S. is a complicated business.In a session on the domestic shipbuilding marketplace, at Marine Money’s late-November 2023 conference held in New Orleans, Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards (with more than a dozen facilities, in Mississippi and Louisiana), described his company’s architecture as a “three-legged stool approach: commercial newbuilds, government newbuilds and repair/conversion capabilities”.On the same panel…

2024 marks another year for development of a biennial WRDA bill—Water Resources Development Act, critical legislation for the Nation’s waterways, ports and harbors. WRDA encompasses a range of issues, from environmental regs to energy use to agriculture and, of course, a focus on projects critical for economic growth.Because these are dynamic and timely issues, Congress and the maritime sector like to keep WRDA on a two-year reauthorization timeline. Indeed, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, December and January, held three WRDA information hearings.

The November edition of Marine News magazine highlighted a selection of the most notable American newbuilds delivered of 2023—from a first-of-its-kind green towboat, to the lead vessel in a series of game-changing ships to train U.S. mariners.Empire StateAs the lead vessel in a series of five new training ships being constructed to serve America's state maritime academies, Empire State is easily one of the most important U.S.-built vessels delivered in recent memory.Built by Philly Shipyard for the U.S.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a supplemental proposed rule to reduce the spread of invasive species though ballast water that occurs with normal operation of large marine vessels.Following public input on EPA’s 2020 proposed rule—including meetings with states, tribes and other stakeholders—the agency is now issuing a Supplemental Notice to share new data and control options raised by stakeholders. This supplemental proposal will bolster the development…

Zero emission is a nice idea, but who’s going to pay for it? The U.S. EPA is readying big money for zero emission ports.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working on two high-profile port initiatives that it hopes will move the needle in a big way towards U.S. ports’ zero emissions (ZE) operations and clean air goals.The first initiative started last May when EPA published a request for information and comments that would help the Agency develop Guidance it could use to evaluate funding requests for projects for zero-emission vehicles, port equipment and related infrastructure.

Perkins marine is set to launch its new Perkins E44 and E70B auxiliary engines for use on inland waterways, tugs, governmental, fishing and ferry services.The new Perkins E44, an electronic 4.4 liter, 4-cylinder engine and the evolved E70B offer a broad range of power ratings and factory configurable power solutions to meet boat operators auxiliary power needs, the manufacturer said.“Our customers require more, and we are here to meet their expectations,” said Ben Lewis, sales support manager at Perkins marine engines…

Crowley and the Port of San Diego broke ground for the shoreside charging station designed to provide clean energy for the company’s forth-coming zero-emissions tugboat, eWolf.The charging station is a microgrid charging facility that will allow vessels to recharge quickly while reducing peak loads on the community energy grid. It is equipped with two containerized energy storage systems provided by Corvus Energy. The station is designed to operate on off-peak hours from the community’s energy grid, and it includes a solar power array to support renewable energy use.

France-based CMA CGM, the world’s third largest shipping container company, will pay $165,000 in penalties as part of its settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over claims of violations of EPA’s Vessel General Permit issued under the Clean Water Act. “The Vessel General Permit is a key element of the Clean Water Act. When companies and their ships don’t comply with this permit, the quality of our nation’s already-challenged waters can be seriously impacted,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman.

“Not only does the top of the river move, but the bottom of the river also moves.” - James Bodron, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division, Regional Business Director.Dredging was the Herculean act that allowed much of the U.S. economy to keep chugging along as usual, at least for Midwest and Central states, as drought conditions threatened to shut down river traffic on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, during fall and winter 2022 and early 2023.The full scope of these U.S.

The San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) and Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District) announced that WETA’s Gemini Class Clean Air Conversion Project has been completed, resulting in a substantial decrease in air pollution emissions from four San Francisco Bay Ferry vessels serving Oakland, Alameda and Richmond.In September 2021, WETA's Board of Directors approved a $5.5 million project to upgrade the engines and reduce emissions on the agency’s four Gemini-class vessels.

Seattle shipbuilder Snow & Company on Tuesday launched a new pilot boat it is building for the San Francisco Bar Pilots.The 67-foot-long, all-aluminum vessel Golden Gate was designed by U.K. firm Camarc Design and is capable of speeds up to 30 knots.The vessel is is powered by MAN D2862 LE 438 1,200HP US EPA Tier 4 engines that drive Hamilton HTX52 waterjets through Twin Disc MGX 6599 SC gearboxes. The vessel is also equipped with Northern Lights M944T3F 38kW generators.It has…

With dredging business booming in the U.S., companies across the country invest in innovative new tonnage to get the job done more efficiently, effectively and safely. Chris Gunsten, SVP, Project Services & Fleet Engineering, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (GLDD) and Patrick Webb, Senior Director Sales - Global Marine and Stationary, Wabtec discuss the tech inside the new Conrad-built trailing suction hopper dredge Galveston Island.Conrad Shipyard recently launched Galveston Island, the first of two newbuild hopper dredges being built for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation.

Great Lakes ferry operator Miller Boat Line announced it has received grant funding from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that will help it to reduce diesel emissions from its vessels.The $239,339 grant will cover approximately 40% of the replacement cost for seven (model year 1982-1996) diesel generator sets with Northern Lights model M50T13L generators on four ferries, the Ohio-based company said.The ferry Islander will receive one new genset, and Put-in Bay, William Market and South Bass will each receive two.

The largest U.S.-flagged, self propelled trailing suction hopper dredger (THSD) Frederick Paup will be propelled by a trio of Schottel RudderPropellers manufactured at the German Wismar production site. Scheduled to enter operation in 2023, the dredger will be owned and operated by Manson Construction Co., and is currently under construction at the Keppel AmFELS Shipyard in Brownsville, Texas. It will be 128 m in length, have a 25 m breadth and about 9 m draught and will have a hopper volume of 11,500 cu.

U.S. shipbuilding group Conrad Shipyard recently launched Galveston Island, the first of two newbuild hopper dredges being built for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation, the United States' largest provider of dredging services. The new 6,500-cubic-yard-capacity trailing suction hopper dredge is in the water and is scheduled to be in operation the first half of 2023 as planned, Great Lakes said in an update on Monday.The dredge will be equipped with a direct high-power pump-ashore installation, dredging system automation, dynamic positioning and tracking, U.S.

The results of fortunes and failures are often described as a “perfect storm”. The COVID pandemic, domestic inflation, labor issues and current geopolitical events have brought that description to a peak. A promise of a “new normal” emerged post pandemic, with a vision of alternative energy, alternative fuels and alternative supply chain logistics to help toward solving some of the problems, heralding a world of change with reduced emissions, government support and the end of fossil fuels as we know them in energy and marine operations.With those promises came big movements in the U.S.

The $300 billion bunkering market is at a critical juncture due to the double whammy of the geopolitical crisis and the uncertainty surrounding the regulatory framework pertaining to the decarbonization of the shipping industry.“Bunkering has been hit from the trickledown effect of the sanctions against Russia, and this of course has had a serious impact on prices. Pre-war, the global prices were around $750-$850 per ton, and now we are looking at prices above $1,000,” said Alexander Prokopakis…

A second Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, LLC (GLDD) trailing suction hopper dredge (TSHD) is to be built to ABS Class at Conrad Shipyard.Able to dredge at depths of up to 100 feet, the 6,500-cubic-yard-capacity vessel is expected to deliver in the first quarter of 2025 and will be a sister ship to the Galveston Island, currently under construction at Conrad Shipyard to ABS Class, with delivery expected in early 2023.Steve Becker, Senior Vice President, Fleet Engineering at GLDD, said, “As the leader in the U.S.

MAN Engines said it has approved all marine engines from its current product range for use with renewable diesel fuel in line with the standard EN15940 in Europe and the US-American specification ASTM D975 of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) with immediate effect. This will allow customers to replace conventional petroleum-based diesel fuel with "green" or renewable diesel fuel. Renewable diesel fuel is obtained from waste and residues of animal and plant origin…

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s National Oil Spill Response Research and Renewable Energy Test Facility, known as Ohmsett, has now reopened after undergoing significant refurbishment over the past eight months as part of BSEE’s ongoing maintenance plan. Originally constructed and operated by the U.S. EPA in 1974, the facility was passed to the U.S. Navy and then to the Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service in 1990. Today, it is the only facility in the U.S. conducting full-scale oil spill response research, equipment testing and training using live oil.

With shipowners pressed to upgrade machinery to meet strict new emission targets, there’s much confusion with chatter surrounding ‘decarbonization’ and ‘future fuels’, solutions that don’t exist today – and may not exist in mass for another generation – cluttering the conversation. Enter Wabtec, formerly GE Transportation, which today offers a Tier 4 compliant engine with no need for urea. Is it the cheapest propulsion solution on the market? No. But the Pennsylvania-based engine builder mounts a compelling case for its 250MDC diesel engine based on performance…

Researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Great Lakes Districts — Buffalo, Detroit and Chicago — recently released a technical report providing guidance for evaluating the environmental suitability of dredged material in the Great Lakes region.The “Environmental Evaluation and Management of Dredged Material for Beneficial Use: A Regional Beneficial Use Testing Manual for…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has revoked the pollution control permit of Bluewater Texas Terminal, according to a letter sent by the EPA to the offshore oil terminal, following objections from environmental groups.The terminal, jointly developed by refiner Phillips 66 and commodities trader Trafigura, had applied for a Clean Air Act permit in 2019 and received an EPA pollution control license in November 2020 that allowed it to emit almost 19,000 tons of pollutants…