The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Port Everglades in Broward County, Florida, have signed a partnership agreement to study air emissions in a seaport scenario to inform sustainable development.

As part of EPA’s Ports Initiative, the agency will work with Port Everglades to coordinate research and modeling encompassing all port-related operations, technologies and growth scenarios. EPA also intends to develop separate emissions estimates for areas outside the port jurisdictional boundaries, such as highways and railways used by Port Everglades customers.

The Ports Initiative vision is to develop and implement environmentally sustainable port strategies. These strategies will identify opportunities and find solutions to create healthy air quality in communities and reduce climate risk, while supporting jobs and the economy.

“This agreement is an important step forward in developing emission reduction scenarios and inventories for port communities,” said Christopher Grundler, Director of EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality. “With this collaborative initiative, together EPA and Port Everglades can support sustainable development and cleaner air.”

“Port Everglades is not only proud to take our commitment to environmental stewardship to another level, but to do so by being the first U.S. seaport to partner with the EPA on this project,” said Steven Cernak, Port Everglades Chief Executive & Port Director. “While Port Everglades already meets environmental standards for air quality, we want to have a benchmark to measure any changes.”

Future emission inventories will help track the port’s progress toward the goals and evaluate the effectiveness of technology and operational strategies used to reduce emissions at the port and surrounding areas.

Consistently ranked among the top three busiest cruise ports in the world, Port Everglades is also one of the nation’s leading container ports and South Florida’s main seaport for receiving petroleum products including gasoline, jet fuel and alternative fuels. The new partnership will allow EPA to develop future methods, provide lessons learned, and serve as practical examples that can be shared with other ports, related agencies, near-port communities, and stakeholders to support sustainable development.