The Puget Sound Maritime Air Forum is a voluntary association of private and public maritime organizations, air agencies, and other parties with operational or regulatory responsibilities for improving maritime industry air quality impacts. Forum members identify and quantify maritime-related sources of air pollution, and seek ways to voluntarily reduce air pollution impacts from this transportation sector.
Partners include the American Lung Association of Washington, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, Northwest Clean Air Agency, NorthWest CruiseShip Association, Olympic Clean Air Agency, Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, Port of Everett, Port of Seattle, Port of Tacoma, Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Washington State Ferries, Western States Petroleum Association and others. In addition to the Forum, the Ports of Seattle, Tacoma, and the Vancouver Port Authority adopted the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy to help reduce air emissions in port areas. For more information on the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy, please visit http://www.portseattle.org/downloads/community/environment/NWCleanAirStrat_200712.pdf.
The greater Puget Sound region currently meets federal air quality standards, and Forum partners want to keep it that way. Diesel engines are believed to be significant generators of fine particle and toxic emissions—a growing public health concern and a top priority of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and other regulators. The Forum is committed to identifying maritime-related sources and seeking ways to reduce diesel emissions from these activities.
The purpose of the Forum is to work collaboratively to:
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Build greater technical understanding of maritime-related air emissions and their impacts on public health and the environment, starting with preparation of a high quality maritime air emissions inventory;
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Support implementation of cost-effective maritime air pollution control strategies by sharing expertise and resources, and building partnerships when activities require the cooperation of multiple organizations for success; and
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Serve as the Puget Sound forum for the ports and vessels track of the West Coast Diesel Emissions Reduction Collaborative — a public-private partnership working to reduce air pollution emissions from diesel sources along the West Coast. The Collaborative is part of an overall national campaign to reduce diesel emissions.
For more information on the Puget Sound Maritime Air Forum, please visit www.maritimeairforum.org.
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