Southwest Detroit has borne a disproportionate amount of transportation-related environmental
burdens for the entire Southeast
Michigan region. Why is that? Its proximity to multiple freeways, train
tracks, the Ambassador Bridge, and the Detroit River has resulted in a
preponderance of transportation infrastructure and the accompanying
emissions.
Some good news for the area: the receipt of two Michigan Clean
Diesel Recovery and Reinvestment Project grants from the Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) that total more than
$450,000. The money will be used by applicant partners
Waterfront Petroleum Terminal Company ($309,913) and
Nicholson Terminal & Dock Company
($141,700), both located on the Detroit River, to replace inefficient
diesel engines. The grants are funded by the Diesel Emission's
Reduction National Program (DERA) through the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 and were facilitated by
AKT Peerless Environmental & Energy Services and the
Detroit Wayne County Port Authority (DWCPA).
Established in 1993, Waterfront Petroleum Terminal Company is a fuel
and energy supplier to electrical utilities, steel producers, road
builders, vessels on the Great Lakes, and government clients such as the
U.S. Department of Defense and municipal accounts including the City of
Detroit. The company also provides downstream distribution services,
transportation solutions, consultation, design, equipment, and financing
solutions. The DERA grant dollars will go towards replacing propulsion
engines, generator sets, and shore pumps with more efficient equipment.
Since its inception in 1928, Nicholson Terminal & Dock Company has
been an above-the-waterline shipyard and shipping terminal. It operates
two port terminals, one in Ecorse and one in Southwest Detroit, where
activities such as truck, rail car, and barge loading and unloading,
container stuffing and stripping, securing, cargo sorting, cargo
assembling, and short- and long-term storage take place. Nicholson will
replace old diesel engines with new ones in order to reduce emissions.
Source: Rebecca Binno-Savage, AKT Peerless
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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