AASHTO Journal - EPA Issues $3B Worth of Clean Ports Program Grants

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently issued $3 billion in grants via its Clean Ports Program to 55 port projects across 27 states and U.S. territories.

[Above photo by EPA]

Selected projects cover a wide range of what the EPA described in a statement as “human-operated and human-maintained equipment” used at and around ports, with the grants supporting the purchase of zero-emission equipment – including over 1,500 cargo handling units, 1,000 drayage trucks, 10 locomotives, and 20 vessels – as well as shore power systems, battery-electric and hydrogen vehicle charging and fueling infrastructure, plus solar power generation systems.

The port projects selected for grants via this round of Clean Ports Program disbursements originally applied for two separate funding opportunities EPA announced in February 2024; a “Zero-Emission Technology Deployment Competition” to directly help acquire zero-emission equipment and infrastructure and a “Climate and Air Quality Planning Competition” to support climate and air quality planning activities.

Several state departments of transportation are also funding a variety of port initiatives on their own as well – for both sea ports and inland waterway ports.

For example, in August, the Washington State Department of Transportation awarded $26.5 million to 11 state ports to help them electrify their operations.

These are the first awards through the Port Electrification Grant Program created by the state legislature in 2023 and funded by Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. The WSDOT noted that all 75 public ports across the state are eligible to seek grants from this program, which is part of a larger statewide initiative to reduce carbon emissions in the transportation sector.

And in September, Kentucky issued $5.5 million in state funding to 16 Kentucky public river port projects as a way to “enhance economic activity and support future expansion” of waterborne cargo activity.

Those grants – administered by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet – will fund dredging, mooring and warehouse repairs, port equipment purchases and other needs.

Approved grants must be used to improve river port facilities and infrastructure for new construction and major replacement or repair projects, KYTC said – including but not limited to the improvement of docks, wharves, equipment, port buildings, storage facilities, roads and railroads to facilitate the flow of commerce through the port, other on-site improvements and related professional services.