Draft Clean Air Program Outlines Methods for Controlling Pollution

Not content to sit and wait until the state makes stringent regulations on air pollution control measures, the Port of San Diego is moving toward implementing a Clean Air Program. The draft of the program was presented at the February 12 Board of Port Commissioners meeting, highlighting four ways to reduce emissions.

One method of reducing ship emissions is cold ironing, which is the practice of diesel-powered vessels shutting off their engines and plugging into shore power. In 2007, the Port hired a consultant to identify sources of pollution generated by operations at the Port. The study found that cruise and cargo ships were the biggest contributors of pollution.

Two other ways to cut emissions is replacing or retrofitting older-model trucks and doing the same for older-model equipment used to handle cargo. The final method is reducing the speed of vessels traveling to and from San Diego Bay.

The Port worked with several groups to develop the emission control measures. The groups included representatives from the community, local government, labor, regulatory agencies, marine terminal operators, railroad and other organizations. The groups will study how the control measures should be implemented. Options include making the program mandatory, voluntary with incentives, or wait for state regulations to take effect.

A Port-mandated program could mean grant funds might be available. Challenges to this option include high costs to administer the program, legal implications and problems with enforcing the rules. The method that appears to be favored is the voluntary incentive program. This method will have a good chance at obtaining grant funding, and it would take less time to develop. It may also be the quickest method for reducing emissions. By waiting for emissions controls to become law, there would be no grant funding and it would take longer to see a reduction in air pollution.

The Board of Port Commissioners asked Port staff to continue with its outreach to determine the best method for implementing the control measures and to report back in about a month. The Port will continue to explore grants, such as Proposition 1B, which is associated with the movement of goods to and from California ports.

Big rig trucks traveling to and from the Port of San Diego may face retrofitting as they age, according to the Port's draft Clean Air Plan.

Also in this issue…

Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel Tops Off

50th Anniversary of San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Society Commemorated

San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge to Feature Public Art Project

Maritime Museum of San Diego set to Expand

Port Tenant Knight & Carver Honored as Boatyard of the Year

Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel Tops Off

Joined by San Diego City Councilmembers Ben Hueso and Kevin Faulconer, along with other civic leaders, I had the pleasure to witness the final steel beam installed at the soon to be opened Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel. The steel beam marked the ceremonial topping off of the 30-story hotel which is next door to the San Diego Convention Center. The nearly 1,200-rooms will provide much needed space for San Diego's growing convention market.

This was a momentous day for the Port of San Diego, as the hotel's construction was delayed by an immense environmental cleanup that had to be completed before the first shovel hit the dirt for groundbreaking. The hotel's site is the former location of Campbell Shipyards and at one point it was a manufactured gas plant waste facility and a bulk petroleum facility. The $13.2 million cleanup removed 42,000 cubic yards of soil and additional sediment in San Diego Bay.

The hotel's many public amenities include a 4.3 acre park and a 35-foot wide public promenade that will eventually link the area to Seaport Village. The project will also include about $2 million in public art.

With an expected $3.1 million in annual revenue to the Port, we won't be the only agency benefiting from the Hilton's opening. The City of San Diego will be receiving about $10 million in Transit Occupancy Tax Revenue. The hotel is expected to gross $96.5 million annually after its fourth year of operation. The fourth year is considered by the hospitality industry as the year of a project's stabilization. By its 14th year of business, the hotel is expected to gross up to $165 million annually.

The final steel beam is hoisted on top of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel.

50th Anniversary of San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Society Commemorated

A flowering peach tree stands humbly at the site of the Yokohama Friendship Bell on Shelter Island. At first, you may not notice the little tree, as it stands only a few feet tall. However, as the Honorable Hiroshi Nakada, Mayor of the City of Yokohama, Japan expressed at the 50th anniversary celebration of the San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Society on February 17, the tree will grow to represent the strong friendship between the cities of San Diego and Yokohama.

The Port of San Diego helped celebrate the 50th anniversary of the two cities' partnership because it also has a long history of friendship and business partnership with Yokohama. In 1955, when the Port was referred to as the Harbor Department, its director, John Bate, traveled to Yokohama with San Diego's mayor, Charles Dail. The purpose of that trip was to attend the Japan-American Pacific Area Conference of Mayors and it resulted in a long lasting, close friendship between the port cities of Yokohama and Japan.

The people of Yokohama had a specially made, bronze cast, 4,600-pound bell delivered to San Diego to commemorate its partnership with San Diego. The bell arrived on the U.S. Navy destroyer tender, the USS Prairie in 1958. It was installed on Shelter Island in an authentic Japanese Bell House, where it is today.

The 50th anniversary celebration was hosted by members of the San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Society. The non-profit cultural and educational organization is administered by a board of directors and depends on its membership for funding. The Society's mission is to link business development between San Diego and Yokohama, as well as enriching the cultural and educational ideas between the two cities.

In 2005, staff from the Port's Maritime Trade Department visited the Port of Yokohama. They toured the port's cargo facilities and cruise ship terminal. In accordance with the sister city relationship that San Diego and Yokohama share, the Port of San Diego will remain in contact with the Port of Yokohama to promote its port and to seek new cargo business.

The Honorable Hiroshi Nakada, Mayor of Yokohama, Japan and Port Chairman Michael Bixler stand behind the flowering peach tree planted at the Yokohama Friendship Bell on Shelter Island.

San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge to Feature Public Art Project

A public art project that has spurred excitement on both sides of San Diego Bay may have a final design by the end of this year. The Board of Port Commissioners unanimously approved a proposal to light up the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge at its February 12 meeting.

Selection of the bridge for a public artwork evolved in 2006, after an evening bay tour by the Port's Public Art Committee. The committee was on the lookout for a site for a signature artwork for San Diego Bay, one that would be instantly recognizable. After researching large bridges in cities throughout the world, the Public Art Committee selected lighting to be the medium for the artwork.

The Port will be working with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) on a lighting design for the bridge. Caltrans has jurisdiction over the bridge, but the Port will act as the lead agency on the project.

A call to artists for proposals is anticipated to go out this month and the Public Art Committee will be seeking proposals that emphasize alternative power for the lighting. The project is intended to be an environmentally friendly or "green" project. Artists whose proposals are selected will receive a stipend of about $15,000 to create their designs and the winning design will be revealed in December 2008.

A sunset shot of the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge as it appears today.

Maritime Museum of San Diego set to Expand

The Maritime Museum of San Diego, a fixture on the North Embarcadero of San Diego Bay since 1927, has plans to expand. At the February Board of Port Commissioners meeting, representatives from the museum presented the Port with plans to add a floating dock to the west of the Berkeley ferryboat. The floating dock will be used as a pedestrian walkway and will also serve as an area to display smaller vessels, such as those currently located in front of the museum on Harbor Drive. The dock could also be used to accommodate visiting vessels during special events like the annual Tall Ship Festival.

The Board approved the preliminary project and the Maritime Museum will receive a temporary use and occupancy permit so that it can use the floating dock for an upcoming event in August. The Maritime Museum will present a final plan to the Board of Port Commissioners later.

Port Tenant Knight & Carver Honored as Boatyard of the Year

The Port of San Diego is proud to announce that one of its long standing tenants, Knight & Carver Yacht Center, has been honored by the American Boat Builders & Repairers Association as Boatyard of the Year. The honor is bestowed annually upon vessel repair companies in the United States that demonstrate excellence in business through commitment to customer relations, quality management, positive employee and vendor relationships, environmental stewardship, safety awareness and innovativeness.

Knight & Carver was founded in 1971 and is located on Bay Marina Drive in National City. The company specializes in the repair of mega yachts, luxury yachts, commercial and military vessels.

Knight & Carver Yacht Center is located in the South Bay in National City.