News
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has received authorization from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Air Act for its 2020 At-Berth Regulation, which further reduces pollution from oceangoing vessels while docked at the state’s busiest ports.
Under the new At-Berth Regulation, emission reduction and reporting requirements have become stricter. It broadens the scope of the previous regulation by expanding emission control requirements to more vessels, including two additional vessel types?tanker and Ro/Ro vessels?and new ports and terminals that serve these vessel types. Now that the authorization has been granted, the new regulation is due to take effect within 30 days.
The 2020 At-berth Regulation was originally slated to go into effect at the beginning of this year, but implementation has faced opposition including threats of lawsuits by the shipping industry. However, in granting its approval, the EPA asserted that opponents of the regulation did not meet their burden of proof to demonstrate or to adequately support an EPA finding that CARB and its 2020 At-Berth Amendments fail to meet the three authorization criteria under its laws.
CARB has proposed regulation enhancements to reduce pollutant emissions from oceangoing ships berthed at California ports since 2020. The new At-Berth Regulation, an upgrade of the original regulation adopted in 2007, is expected to cut NOx emissions by 175,000 tons and CO2e emissions by 356,000 tons. Once the new regulation is fully implemented, it will deliver a 90% reduction in pollution from vessels at berth. This includes an expected additional 2,300 vessel visits per year and will result in a 55% reduction in potential cancer risk for communities near the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Richmond., according to CARB.
Vessels covered under the original regulation include container ships, “reefers” (carrying refrigerated cargo), and cruise ships. The new At-Berth Regulation requires that vessels coming into a regulated California port either use shore power or a CARB-approved control technology to reduce harmful emissions like a capture-and-control technology.
