Port of Portland employees working out of our headquarters building have been treated to an up close and personal viewing of a barn owl over the last couple of days. The owl first appeared roosting on the window ledge on the south side of the building on Friday morning and has been spotted at a few different locations around the building since then. Take a look at a few of the great photos our staff were able to snap of our visitor.

According to The Raptor Institute, barn owls are one of the most widespread species of birds in the world. Birds can naturally be attracted to the open spaces at Portland International Airport, where our headquarters building is located, and we use a proactive Wildlife Management Program, to help prevent conflicts between birds and aircraft that utilize the facility.

The Port of Portland was honored to receive an award at the fifth annual Airports Going Green Conference in November. The conference is sponsored by the American Association of Airport Executives and the City of Chicago Department of Aviation. The Port competed against a field of airports across the world to ecived accolades for our LEED Platinum Headquarters Building. In addition, Port project engineering lead, Dan Gilkison participated in a panel of presentations discussing the link between building design and human health. Airports Going Green encourages the aviation industry to use innovation to lead by example and face the challenge of protecting our environment for future generations.

Related Links:

Airports Going Green

Port of Portland Headquarters

Our community partners are doing some wonderful work and there are a couple of ways you can get involved. We may be nearing the peak rainy season, but there are still plenty of reasons to get outdoors and make a difference in your neighborhood. Friends of Baltimore Woods has already hosted a number of successful volunteer events and continues to team up with SOLVE to hold volunteer work parties in St. Johns to remove invasive species and plant native trees and shrubs. Baltimore Woods is a remnant of a native white oak forest and the all-volunteer group Friends of Baltimore Woods is seeking to create a linear park that connects Cathedral Park with Pier Park and would provide access for recreation and education purposes. The next two work parties will take place on this Saturday, November 10 and Saturday, December 1. Use SOLVE's online volunteer registration page to sign up.  

Also this month, the Oregon Environmental Council kicked off their most recent Love Your River challenge, focusing on how you can help prevent pollution in storm drains. The challenge encourages the public to engage in at least one of three actions including clearing your street's storm drain, refraining from dumping into storm drains and volunteering to assist in labeling storm drains. If you're willing to take on the challenge, you could be the lucky recipient of a Patagonia backpack or this year's grand prize: a four-person tent, two sleeping pads, and two camp chairs from REI. 

We are pleased to announce that Portland International Airport now offers electric vehicle charging stations in our short-term parking garage. The six Level 2 charging stations are located on the fourth floor of the garage near the south skybridge that connects to the airport terminal building. Two of the stations are allocated for valet customers, and valet staff will perform the charge at no extra cost.

“The charging stations help us reduce carbon emissions, while at the same time supporting the growing trend of electric vehicles and giving our customers a wide range of transportation options,” said Michael Huggins, PDX landside operations manager for the Port of Portland.

The Port already has two charging stations in place for its two electric vehicles, and continues to grow the number of alternatively fueled vehicles in the Port fleet. Currently, 24 percent of the fleet are power by electric, compressed natural gas, flex-fuel or hybrid systems.

An additional boost to the electric vehicle market occurred this week when AAA announced it will run a pilot program beginning in June to introduce mobile electric vehicle charging to its roadside assistance trucks. Portland was one of six cities selected to be part of the pilot project.

If you are planning to attend the fifth annual GoGreen Portland conference this Thursday at the Left Bank Annex, come check out Port of Portland Facilities Services Division Manager, Franko Martinec presenting about the Port's carbon footprint reduction and energy management strategy. Franko will be joined by Good Company's Aaron Toneys for a workshop entitled, Feet on the Ground or Head in the Clouds? Guidance from the Front Lines of Carbon and Energy Accounting. The session includes an overview of considerations for compiling a carbon footprint inventory and features the Port of Portland as a case study for analyzing opportunities to reduce carbon at an organizational level. 

In 2009, Port of Portland Commissioners adopted a target for the Port to achieve a 15 percent reduction below 1990 carbon levels by 2020. To begin working towards this ambitious goal, the Port created a carbon footprint reduction and energy management master plan. The process culminated in the development of a software tool that allows the Port to identify opportunities for carbon reduction and build portfolios of actions necessary to meet the target. The Port is a founding member of The Climate Registry and has been reporting carbon emissions since 2008. 

Last Saturday, Port employees were joined by Starbucks employees, University of Portland students, the Portland AmeriCorps Alums group and few local residents for a SOLVE Beach and Riverside Cleanup event at West Hayden Island. The cleanup is one of over 100 similar events that occurred in Oregon in September. 

The island provides public access on the beach up to the ordinary high water mark and plenty of litter and debris had accumulated  since the last time we held a cleanup event in 2011. The group of 128 volunteers removed 2,800 pounds of litter and debris. We would like to deliver a big thank you to all who participated in the cleanup. Please visit our Facebook page for a few photos from the event.  

Environmental cues are a big part of encouraging behavior change. This is especially true when it comes to waste management. The flying public is an active participant in helping us effectively manage our waste streams at PDX. Most people have become accustomed to separating out recyclables and composting is becoming more commonplace, especially in Portland, but what about separating out liquids?

Imagine the last time you flew out of the airport – you were probably focusing on getting your documents in order, removing your shoes, taking your laptop out of your bag and then, “what am I going to do with this bottle of water I only drank half of?” In 2008, we introduced our first liquid collection stations at PDX to help remove liquids from our waste stream. The stations prevent liquid-filled containers from being sent to waste handlers, reduce costs in janitorial services and allow passengers to reuse their container post-security. Though the stations have diverted 100 tons of liquid from the landfill since their installation, we had a sense that they might be inconspicuous in this busy section of the airport.

With help from the Port of Portland Technical Assistance Project, we stood out at each security check-point for two hours and polled passengers coming through. Did they use the liquid collection station? Did they see it at all? What would make it more noticeable? What we discovered was that although the stations had collected 100 tons of liquid in the last four years, they actually had a fairly low rate of use and many people did not see them at all. Polled passengers recommended bigger stations, brighter colors and images that encourage people to stop and look. Earlier this summer, we rolled out redesigned stations, shown below. The redesign was based almost entirely on the public feedback we received. We are currently in the process of collecting six months of data to gauge the effectiveness of the new design. 

Also, be sure to check out the station featured in Airport Magazine.

The air we breathe is important to all of us. Some things that affect air quality are easy to see. Take for example, wildfires currently burning in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. These events create smoke plumes that are visible to the naked eye and on a larger scale in satellite imagery. But there are other things that can affect air quality that might not be as apparent in the course of our day-to-day lives. At the Port, making air quality improvements is important to us, which is why we were pleased to see a significant change to global marine fuel standards implemented on August 1. The new standard will result in improved air quality along our nation’s coasts and inland areas.

Marine passenger and cargo vessels are now required to burn fuel containing no more than one percent sulfur once they pass within 200 nautical miles of U.S. coastline.  Currently, bunker fuel is commonly used and contains about three percent sulfur which, upon combustion, emits fine particulate pollution.  The regulatory change is the result of an amendment to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, governed by the International Maritime Organization and enforced here in the U.S. by the Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The measure designates an Emissions Control Area (ECA) along the North American coastlines and inland waterways of Canada and the U.S.

The more stringent regulations are certainly a step in the right direction toward improving air quality and decreasing the risk of health conditions like asthma. However, any fuel transition in the marine transport industry does not come easily. Ocean-going vessels are now required to burn a compliant low-sulfur fuel once they enter the ECA. Premiums for compliant fuel run at about 20 percent above current fuel costs. However, failure to comply could also cost as much as $25,000 per day in fines for ships in violation. Some ships have already changed their routes to traverse directly across the ECA and minimize the amount of expensive compliant fuel they must burn.

The new standards have also resulted in disproportionate impacts. For inland ports, like the Port of Portland, ship operators will bear added fuel costs not only within the ocean portion of the ECA, but also for the 100 mile journey upriver to reach their port of call. Many vessels that call on Alaska will travel entirely within an ECA during their voyage. Like any industry, change can often lead to innovation. TOTE, a company whose vessels sail exclusively inside the ECA between Washington and Alaska found another solution. They will switch some ships to run exclusively on liquid natural gas. LNG generates no particulate pollution because it does not contain sulfur. It also generates far less carbon dioxide.  Even better, its biggest advantage is that it is far less expensive than the high sulfur bunker fuel it replaces.         

The sulfur standard that went in to effect in August can be achieved through blending bunker fuels and lighter low sulfur fuels. However, an even more stringent standard will go in to effect in the North American ECA in 2015, when fuel must contain 0.1 percent sulfur or less. To achieve that milestone, the industry will likely need a new oil-based fuel formula that does not yet exist—or it will need to convert ships to burn LNG.

Related Links 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regulatory Announcement Fact Sheet

International Maritime Organization

TOTE receives ECA waiver for LNG conversion

If you want an excuse to get down to the water in mid-September, RiverFest may be the event for you. The annual festival is now in its fifth year and will take place from Sept. 21-23. It features an assortment of river-related activities in Portland, up and down the Willamette River.

For the athletically-inclined, Cathedral Park will serve as the backdrop for the Portland Triathlon, recognized as the Greenest Triathlon in the U.S. by Triathlete Magazine in 2010. The event will be held concurrently with the family-friendly River Fair, also taking place at Cathedral Park. For those that prefer a more leisurely place, Alder Creek Kayak and Portland Kayaking Company will be offering kayak tours closer to downtown. While you are there, be sure to check out SOLVE’s RiverFest Cleanup, OMSI’s OMNIMAX Theater showings and Industry & Art - all taking place in conjunction with RiverFest.

View the event schedule at www.portlandriverfest.org for more information about the events, times and costs.

Are you curious about how Portland International Airport handles deicing operations in the winter? Have you driven by our new facility on NE 33rd Ave. and wondered what exactly happens there? As we head into the fall and winter months, we are opening our doors to the public and other interested parties to learn more about our new deicing treatment facility.

The Port of Portland designed the enhanced system in partnership with air carriers and regulatory agencies to better protect water quality in the Columbia Slough. The entire project is part of an agreement with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to ensure the Port meets environmental regulations for deicing operations while maintaining safe airport operations.

The enhanced system features on-site anaerobic treatment, one of only three facilities of its kind in the nation. Major construction of the facility was completed last fall and the Port went through a seven-month start-up testing process during winter and spring of 2011-12 to ensure the system operated as designed. That process was completed in April 2012 and the system is now fully operational.

For an inside look, join us for a guided facility tour on Tuesday, Sept. 18. Tours will occur every half hour between 5 and 7 p.m. at our facility on 10150 NE 33rd Dr. in Portland. Please RSVP if you plan to attend.