NEW ORLEANS –April 15, 2021– Today, applications open for the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) Clean Truck Replacement Incentive Program (Clean TRIP), which gives drayage truck and fleet owners who serve Port NOLA an opportunity to voluntarily replace older, inefficient drayage trucks with cleaner models. This is the third round of funding since the program began in 2016.
Qualified drayage truck owners interested in participating can learn more and find application information at http://cleantrip-portno.com. Printed copies of the application are also available at the Clarence Henry Truckway Circle Building and at the Port NOLA Administration Building, 1350 Port of New Orleans Place. The Port expects to replace a minimum of 34 trucks with this round of grant funding.
“The Clean TRIP program provides significant environmental benefits and supports the Port’s trucking community, a key component of our essential workforce,” said Brandy D. Christian, President and CEO of Port NOLA and CEO of the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad. “Truckers benefit because their new trucks are more reliable and efficient; the community benefits from the reduction of local air emissions.”
This program was launched and implemented successfully in 2016 with funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ).
To date, 58 short-haul drayage trucks have been replaced with cleaner-burning engines, reducing fine particulate emissions from these trucks by more than 96%, the equivalent of taking 73,000 cars off the road. These replacements also have reduced local carbon dioxide emissions by 542 tons per year.
The Clean TRIP program provides valuable incentives for eligible local drayage truck owners that service cargo terminals and warehouses along the Mississippi River and the Inner Harbor. Port NOLA’s Clean TRIP initiative has contributed to community dialogue around air quality and opportunities for improvement and supports the Port’s commitment to leading and fostering environmental sustainability in the local maritime industry.
Port NOLA was recognized as a Clean Fleet Leader for six consecutive years (2015-2020) by the New Orleans Clean Fuels Partnership for its reduction of fuel use from environmental sustainability programs such as Clean TRIP. In 2018, LDEQ honored Port NOLA with an Environmental Leadership Award for pollution prevention and commitment to environmental protection as an acknowledgment for the success of its Clean TRIP program.
Port NOLA is also an active member of Green Marine, a voluntary environmental certification program for the North American maritime industry. Green Marine certification requires an independent audit and provides a framework for continual improvement of our environmental performance and community engagement.
For more information on the Clean TRIP program visit: https://www.portnola.com/community/sustainable-development/clean-trip