This year is going to be a cleaner, greener one at the Port of New York and New Jersey as a new rule went into effect Jan. 1, requiring that certain new cargo-handling equipment at the facilities be zero emission.

Similarly, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection began the year with a proposed rule aimed at cutting carbon dioxide and other polluting emissions — such as nitrous oxides and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) —produced by cargo-handling equipment at the Port of New York and New Jersey and several far smaller ports in South Jersey.

Based on similar regulations enacted in California, the DEP’s proposed rules, would require owners and operators of new and existing diesel-powered cargo-handling equipment to replace it with newer, less polluting models or install a cleaner engine into existing equipment. The requirements cover a variety of vehicles, from the yard tractors that move containers around the terminal to mechanical equipment that can pick up, stack and load and unload containers to and from trucks.

The DEP will be seeking public comment on the proposed rules over the next two months.

Specifically, the proposal aims to cut the emission of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and PM2.5 “through replacement with engines or equipment that meet the most stringent emissions control technology standard or through the application of the most stringent emission control strategy.”

Long-term exposure to PM2.5 has been associated with asthma, lung cancer and premature death, while NOx contributes to ozone, which can damage an individual’s respiratory tract and cause breathing difficulties, said the DEP statement outlining the rules.

The zero-emission mandate is part of the operating rules, or port tariff, issued by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) to all companies that lease terminals at the port, with modifications introduced at the start of each year. The latest addition requires that certain new cargo-handling equipment added to the port’s vehicle fleet be zero-emission, which the authority says can only be fulfilled with electric equipment.

The PANYNJ’s new guidelines follow the port’s Oct. 28 commitment to cut the port’s greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050, in part by reducing the emissions from the 1,200 pieces of cargo-handling equipment at the facility. Overseeing the largest port on the East Coast, the PANYNJ said it would reach those goals by transitioning “to clean zero-emissions electric port material-handling equipment, to the maximum extent practicable.”

The new tariff requires that any new ship-to-shore cranes, which move cargo on and off ocean vessels, and rail-mounted gantry cranes, which move and stack containers, must be zero emission equipment. Likewise, any new yard tractors, which move containers internally around the port, added to the port fleet after Jan. 1, 2025, must be zero-emission vehicles.

The tariff also requires that other types of new equipment that serve the port’s cargo and cruise ship terminals must meet Tier 4 emissions standards, which are the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) toughest standard for NOx and PM2.5 emissions from diesel engines. The EPA has estimated that the standard could cut PM2.5 and NOx by more than 90%.

Seeking Environmental Justice

The DEP rules are Gov. Phil Murphy’s latest effort to cut emissions from the transportation sector, the largest source of emissions in New Jersey. As in other states, the challenge is particularly urgent around ports, due to the volume of diesel trucks and other equipment used and the proximity of low-income and minority communities, which raises environmental justice concerns.

Murphy is seeking to put the state on course to generate zero emissions by 2050, with a strong focus on promoting the use of electric vehicles, especially trucks. The governor has worked to increase the number of EV chargers around the state and allocated funds to provide incentives to subsidize the purchase of EV truck and vehicles. Last month, the state adopted rules that require truck manufacturers to make electric trucks a rising proportion of their vehicle sales in the state. (See NJ Adopts EV Truck Sales Mandate.)

The DEP’s cargo-handling equipment rules are aimed at the owners and operators of port or rail terminals that use equipment such as yard trucks or gantry cranes. The proposed rules would also apply to anyone who uses, sells, leases, rents or purchases the equipment, and would cover other ports on the Delaware River, among them Camden, Paulsboro and Salem, as well as rail yards in Newark, Elizabeth, Jersey City and South Kearny.

Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation, which operate the rail yards, did not respond to a NetZero Insider request for comment. However, Andy Saporito, executive director of the South Jersey Ports Corp., which operates four cargo terminals, said his team will review the rules and develop a plan to meet them.

“We strive to operate our ports cleaner and greener,” he said, noting that his agency has already taken steps in line with the rules. Two years ago, the ports spent $2 million to upgrade a portion of their fleet to low-emission movers, cranes and vehicles, and was awarded $6.6 million in 2021 to buy 23 electric yard tractors.

The DEP rules require that all cargo-handling equipment in the covered facilities meet either California emission standards or the EPA’s Tier 4 standards within certain time frames, depending on the type and age of the equipment. Equipment that is more than 20 years old must be brought in line with the rules within two years, but equipment made since 2007, which is inherently cleaner, must be replaced or upgraded within five years.

If no replacement equipment is available that meets either standard, the DEP will, in certain circumstances, approve an alternative. In addition, the DEP might approve equipment that does not meet all its requirements if the average of all the vehicles in a fleet meets the emissions standards.

The Challenge of Reducing Port Emissions

Based on data compiled by PANYNJ, the DEP estimates that by 2028, the “emissions benefits” of the rules will be 6.4 fewer tons of PM2.5 emitted and 82 fewer tons of NOx. The cumulative benefits from 2024 to 2035 would be a reduction of 38 tons of PM2.5 and 500 tons of NOx, the DEP said.

Yet the DEP’s outline of the rules also shows their limits and the challenges facing the state in seeking to cut emissions at its ports. Cargo-handling equipment, said the 2019 Multi-Facility Emissions Inventory compiled by the PANYNJ, was only the third largest source of pollution, accounting for 18% of PM2.5 and 9% of NOx at the Port of New York and New Jersey.

According to the inventory, only about 40% of the 1,200 pieces of cargo-handling equipment at the port are below the Tier 4 emissions standard set out by the DEP, and so would have to be replaced if the proposed rules were to take effect.

The largest source of emissions at the port, heavy duty vehicles, accounted for 42.8% of the PM2.5 and 32.4% of NOx, the report said.

Nevertheless, the report also shows that the authority has had some success in cutting emissions. The NOx and PM2.5 emissions at the port have declined since 2006, despite a 47% increase in the volume of cargo handled.

Some port stakeholders have taken steps to cut emissions on their own. In August, Red Hook Container Terminals, which operates the smallest of six container terminals in the port, unveiled a fleet of 10 Chinese-made electric yard tractors, which move containers around the port. (See: Port of NY-NJ Unveils Fleet of 10 EV Trucks).

The state provided partial funding for the tractor purchase, using money from the Volkswagen settlement. Another $850,000 from the settlement was allocated to purchase a mobile electric crane at the Port of New York and New Jersey, while $2.3 million went to two straddle carriers, which move containers at the port, and $6.6 awarded to buy the 23 electric yard tractors at South Jersey ports. (See: NJ Targets Ports for EV Incentives).