PHA Commission Considers Program to Distribute $2.9 Million in Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) Funds to Local Maritime Industry

Also Considers Streetscape Improvements to Barbours Cut Blvd.

• Press Release
• Source: Port of Houston Authority
• On 2:07 pm EDT, Monday August 24, 2009

HOUSTON, Aug. 24, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Port Commission of The Port of Houston Authority (PHA) will consider authorizing a program to distribute about $2.9 million in Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) funds to replace, repower and retrofit cargo-handling equipment used by the Port of Houston maritime industry and will also consider streetscape improvements to Barbours Cut Boulevard on Tuesday, August 25, beginning at 9 a.m. in the board room of the PHA Executive Building, 111 East Loop North (Exit 29 off Loop 610) in Houston. Chairman Jim Edmonds will preside over the meeting with Commissioner Steve Phelps, Commissioner Jim Fonteno, Commissioner Kase Lawal, Commissioner Jimmy Burke, Commissioner Janiece Longoria, and Commissioner Elyse Lanier.

FACILITIES MATTERS

(Agenda I5) Commissioners will consider advertising and receipt of competitive sealed proposals for improvements to the Barbours Cut Boulevard streetscape. As part of PHA's commitment to the community and the environment around Barbours Cut Terminal, it has coordinated with local municipalities and Harris County to landscape the two-mile-long Barbours Cut Boulevard with palm and crape myrtle trees from State Highway 146 to Vinsonia Avenue. The improvements will also include a sidewalk alongside Barbours Cut Boulevard from E. Main St. to Vinsonia Ave. that will become part of the city of Morgan's Point hike-and-bike trail. The port authority previously committed more than $1 million toward the design and construction of the 2.9-mile trail. Total cost for the Barbours Cut Blvd. improvements is expected to be less than $500,000.

(Agenda I8) Commissioners will consider advertising and receipt of competitive sealed proposals for access control and CCTV for the Point at Barbours Cut Terminal. The project, partially funded by a federal grant, includes the installation of perimeter fencing, a manual gate, and security cameras to maintain controlled access and surveillance of the gate and waterway. The new cameras will be consistent with existing PHA camera equipment and connect to the Port Coordination Center. The Engineering Department has prepared plans and specifications for the work.

OPERATIONS MATTERS

(Agenda K6) Commissioners will consider amending Port of Houston Authority Tariff Nos. 8, 14 and 15 governing the Turning Basin Terminal, Barbours Cut Container Terminal, and Bayport Container Terminal, to reflect revisions, additions, and clarifications relating to direct discharge steel and other matters. To keep PHA terminals competitive and meet the ever-increasing demands of the maritime trades, it is necessary to implement changes in certain provisions of the aforementioned tariffs. These amendments will enable PHA to continue to meet its customers' needs.

To enhance operational efficiencies at the Turning Basin Terminal, the proposed amendments to Tariff No. 8 will reduce the free time for direct discharge inbound non-trans-shipped steel (direct discharge steel) to one day and implement procedures to control truck traffic receiving this steel, including creation of a pre-staging truck overflow lot. To afford industry customers sufficient planning time, the Tariff No. 8 revisions relating to direct discharge steel will if approved become effective Nov. 1, 2009. Other amendments to Tariff No. 8 relate to reporting requirements for cargo remaining on terminal after applicable free times, the terminal use fee, and truck insurance requirements. These amendments would become effective Sept. 1, 2009.

Amendments to Tariff Nos. 14 and 15 update and clarify freight-handling procedures and requirements, liability for and collection of certain charges, and procedures for billing throughput charges. Following commission action, these amendments will become effective Sept. 1, 2009.

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT MATTERS

(Agenda L9) Commissioners will consider approving administering $2.85 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds to benefit the Port of Houston maritime industry through the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) grant program.

In addition to submitting its own grant application, the port authority submitted grant applications on behalf of local private maritime businesses totaling $14.58 million, for projects to replace, repower and retrofit cargo-handling equipment, drayage trucks, and marine vessels, and to assist ocean-going vessels in port switching to cleaner fuels. The EPA awarded some funds directly to PHA for its own initiatives, and also awarded $2.85 million to PHA on behalf of the local maritime industry, to be used to replace, repower or retrofit their cargo-handling equipment. PHA will report to EPA on the progress of the projects funded by the approved grant, and pass through the reimbursement funding for eligible projects from EPA to the local maritime industry.

This news release is not a substitute for the official PHA agenda. To view the complete agenda, please visit: http://portofhouston.com/publicrelations/meetings.html

The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, there are more than 8,000 vessel calls at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage and second in overall total tonnage. The port authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. The second recertification of those facilities in 2009 included an extension for the state-of-the-art Bayport Container Terminal. PHA is the first port authority in the world to receive ISO 28000:2007 certification for Port Police and the perimeter security operations at both the Barbours Cut and Bayport Terminals. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange. For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com

To access the port's Web site photo gallery, please visit http://www.portofhouston.com/publicrelations/publicrelations.html and click the link for PHA Photo Gallery.

The Port of Houston Authority logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=720

The Port of Houston Authority
Lisa Ashley-Whitlock, Communications Manager
(713) 670-2644
Cell: (832) 247-8179
lwhitlock@poha.com
Argentina M. James, Director of Public Affairs
(713) 670-2568
Cell: (713) 306-6822
ajames@poha.com