Local Impacts of Marine Shipping

Local Studies & Actions

Marine Shipping Retrofit Project

State/National/ International Initiatives

Related Downloads/Links

APCD Contacts

Photo courtesy of Steve Sterner, taken in the Santa Barbara Channel, August 2003.

Raising Awareness

The District has worked to raise awareness of the problem at the state level, with the California Air Resources Board, and the California Association of Air Pollution Control Officers, and at the national level at the USEPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality. See briefing papers and more information below.

---

Local Action

The District Board has taken several actions relating to marine shipping activities. The timeline below provides brief summaries of these actions.

 

---

Presentations (PDF files)

• October 21, 2010 presentation by Brian Shafritz to the District Board.
  
  
• August 11, 2009 presentation by Tom Murphy for the "From Shore to Sea" Lecture Series at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum.
  
  
• September 12, 2006 presentation by Tom Murphy to the Maritime Air Quality Working Group at the Port of Long Beach.
   
• July 18, 2006 presentation by Tom Murphy to Channel Islands Naturalist Corps (large file, @ 5.6 MB).
   
• November 22, 2005 presentation by Tom Murphy to Ventura County Air Pollution Control District.
   
• September 21, 2005 presentation on Marine Shipping Emissions by Tom Murphy to the local chapter of the Air & Waste Management Association. 
   
• April 21 and 22, 2004 presentation by Tom Murphy at the West Coast Region Conference on Marine Port Air Quality Impacts, Seattle, Washington.
   

Legal Actions

The District was a party in two lawsuits challenging US EPA’s failure to adopt standards for the control of air pollution from Category 3 marine vessel diesel engines pursuant to Section 213 of the federal Clean Air Act.   

The first lawsuit was filed in District Court for the District of Columbia and charged that EPA had failed to take “final action” to adopt standards for Category 3 marine vessels by the April 23, 2007 deadline. The District’s suit was consolidated with similar suits filed by the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the Friends of the Earth.   EPA’s defense has been to claim that it did take final action when it adopted a rule extending its deadline to December 17, 2009 (“Deferral Rule”).   EPA argues the Deferral Rule renders this suit is moot and therefore must be dismissed. Oral argument was heard on EPA’s motion to dismiss by Judge Collier on April 2, 2008.  In light of the Court of Appeal proceedings (see below), however, Judge Collier issued a Stay Order on  July 31st, stating that regardless of what decision she might reach on this case, the ultimate decision was up to the Court of Appeal.   

The same 3 parties also have filed individual lawsuits in the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.   These suits had to be filed no later than January 31, 2008 because the statute of limitations would have otherwise barred any challenge to the Deferral Rule. The three suits were consolidated by the Court of Appeal and have run parallel to the District Court action. This case challenges EPA’s adoption of the Deferral Rule as an abuse of discretion by charging the EPA had no authority to give itself more time to meet a deadline set by Congress. This suit also charges that EPA’s decision was not supported by evidence in the record” 

Download February 22, 2008 filing in U.S. District Court (PDF file) by the District, Friends of the Earth, and South Coast Air Quality Management District

Comment Letters

• June 2, 2010 letter submitting comments on the U.S. Coast Guard Port Access Route Study examining location of shipping lanes off the coast of Santa Barbara County and areas to the south.
  
  
• August 26, 2009 letter submitting comments on Environmental Protection proposal for controlling emissions from new marine compression-ignition engines at or above 30 liters per cylinder.
  
  
• January 29, 2009 letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation submitting comments on the Maritime Administration's Interim Final Rule on America's Marine Highway Program.
  
  
• September 18, 2008 letter to California Air Resources Board submitting comments on ARB's proposed Marine Vessel Speed Reduction Program.
  
  
• February 22, 2008, letter submitting comments on Environmental Protection Agency  Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Control Emissions from New Marine Compression-Ignition Engines at or Above 30 Liters per Cylinder
   
• December 21, 2007, letter to EPA in support of of the United States position on proposed amendments to the air pollution regulations in Annex VI of the MARPOL convention. (Letter is from Twenty Members of the United States West Coast Collaborative Marine Vessel and Ports Sector, including APCD.)
   
• November 28, 2007 letter to Senator Barbara Boxer, in support of HR 802, Marine Pollution Prevention Act
   
• November 28, 2007 letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein, in support of HR 802, Marine Pollution Prevention Act
   
• November 28, 2007 letter to Representative Lois Capps, in support of HR 802, Marine Pollution Prevention Act
   
• October 18, 2007 letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency filing notice of intent to sue EPA.
   
• May 25 letter from APCD to Senator Barbara Boxer, in support of the Marine Vessel Emissions Reduction Act of 2007.
   
• May 25 letter from APCD to Congresswoman Hilda Solis, in support of the Marine Vessel Emissions Reduction Act of 2007.
   
• May 8, 2007 letter from APCD to EPA with comments on EPA Change in regulatory deadline for rulemaking on marine engines.
   
• May 4, 2007 letter from CAPCOA (California Air Pollution Control Officers Association) to EPA with comments on EPA Change in regulatory deadline for rulemaking on marine engines.
   
• March 23, 2007 letter to Alan Lowenthal, California State Senate in support of Senate Bill 974 – Financing of Port Congestion Relief and Port Mitigation Relief.
   
• November 9, 2006 to California Air Resources Board on the Alternative Compliance Plan  included as part of the auxiliary engine Air Toxic Control Measure developed by Air Resources Board.
   
• May 9, 2006 to Senator Commerce Committee to support favorable and expeditious processing of the implementation language required for US ratification of Annex VI, “Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships,” of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) MARPOL.
   
• November 18, 2005 letter to ARB on effort to consider the adoption of proposed regulations to reduce emissions from auxiliary diesel engines and diesel-electric engines operated on ocean-going vessels within California waters and 24 nautical miles of the California baseline.
   
• November 4, 2005 letter to Governor Schwarzenegger re: Goods Movement
   
• August 24, 2004 APCD comments to the USEPA regarding Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Control of Emissions of Air Pollution from New Locomotive Engines and New Marine Compression-Ignition Engines Less Than 30 Liters per Cylinder.
   
• August 19, 2004 Comments on California Resource Agency's draft "California Ocean Resources Management: A Strategy for Action"
   
• Letter of June 6, 2002, from APCD to USEPA with comments on the draft rule addressing large ship engines.
   

APCD Board Actions Related to Marine Shipping (PDF files unless otherwise noted)

• January 23, 2008 (news release on this site) Announcement of Board Approval of Suit of EPA.
   
• October 22, 2007 (news release on this site) Announcement of Board Approval of Filing of Intent to Sue EPA.
   
• October 19, 2006 - Board authorizes the APCD Director to execute agreements for the in-use emission testing of an ocean-going vessel retrofitted with emissions control technologies using partner contributions and up to $22,500 of APCD Innovative Technology Group funds.
   
• August 17, 2006 - Board approves APCD role as collector and distributor of emissions-testing funds for a project demonstrating emission-control retrofiit technologies on an ocean-going vessel.
   
• December 16, 2004 - Board adopts 2004 Clean Air Plan (view and download from this page on this site, see Chapter 6 for information on marine shipping emissions).
   
• October 16, 2003 - Board allocates $100,000 for the Retrofit Program
   
• January 16, 2003  - Board Chair signs letters to the Chair and Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee urging ratification if IMO Annex VI.
   
• June 20, 2002  - Board receives update on MSRP and comments on EPA marine engine rulemaking (see also, comment letter).
   
• April 18, 2002 - Board receives update on APCD efforts to reduce emissions from marine shipping activities.
   
• February 21, 2002 - Board receives update on marine shipping emissions.
   
• November 15, 2001 - Board adopts 2001 Clean Air Plan. To view the Plan, see this page on this site.
   
• July 19, 2001 - Board approves international marine vessel resolution.

Articles and Papers

• "Air Pollution Grows as Vessel Regulations Flounder," by Terry Dressler, in the Santa Barbara Independent May 17, 2007.
   
• "Next Challenge on the Horizon: Air Pollution Emissions from Ships," by Terry Dressler, Tom Murphy, and Anthony Fournier, August 2006.
   
• "Controlling Air Emissions from Marine Vessels: Problems and Opportunities," by Anthony Fournier, and supported by the University of California Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation.
   
• Seattle Times article Tuesday, September 28, 2004.

• "The Need to Reduce Marine Shipping Emissions: A Santa Barbara County Case Study," by Tom Murphy, Ray McCaffrey, and Kathy Patton for the 2003 Air & Waste Management Association Conference.
    
• Articles in APCD's On the Air Newsletter (see July 2001, January 2002, July 2002, and Fall 2003).
   
• Briefing paper for January 2002 meetings with USEPA and U.S. Maritime Administration officials, in connection with  Workshop on Maritime Energy and Clean Emissions conference sponsored by the USEPA, the U.S. Maritime Administration, and the U.S. Department of Energy.
   
• Fact sheet on the Marine Shipping Retrofit Program

---

Dr. Ron Tan, Planning & Technology Supervisor, 805-961-8812