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Port of Oakland Gets Jump-Start for $1.5M Air Improvement Program

28 February 2000

Port of Oakland Gets Jump-Start for $1.5M Air Quality Improvement Program At Oakland International Airport; 19 CNG Vans and $150,000 Toward Construction of New Fueling Station

    OAKLAND, Calif.--Feb. 28, 2000--The Port of Oakland was selected as one of only three airports in the country to receive a grant from the Ford Motor Company as part of a program to reduce emissions and improve air quality.
    The grant consists of the Port receiving 19 Ford Econoline vans powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) and $150,000 toward the construction of a CNG fueling station. The grant allows the Port of Oakland to jump-start a significant $1.5 million Airport Air Quality Improvement Program. Palm Springs and the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authorities were the other two airports to receive similar grants.
    The vans will be leased to ground transportation operators for use in transporting passengers to and from the Oakland International Airport.
    "We're very pleased to have the opportunity to work with the Airport's shuttle bus operators to implement this worthwhile program," said Steve Grossman, director, Port of Oakland's Aviation Division. "Ford Motor Company now becomes a major partner with the Airport in seeking to improve air quality."
    The grant, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, is a result of a program undertaken by Ford as part of the settlement of an enforcement action brought by the United States on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
    Last week, the Board of Port Commissioners authorized the Port to enter into agreements with the Ford Motor Company to accept the 19 CNG vans and $150,000 towards construction of a CNG fueling station.
    Over the next seven years the Oakland International Airport will undergo extensive expansion and improvements that will cost some $860 million. The program will include a new terminal complex, parking garage, new access roadway and additional cargo areas.
    As part of the Airport Development Program, the Port is developing a plan to reduce emissions of air pollutants from activities associated with the Oakland International Airport. Specifically, the Port is committed to developing trip reduction programs, using alternative fuel vehicles, and encouraging Port tenants to use alternative fuel vehicles as well.
    The Port of Oakland, established in 1927, is an independent department of the City of Oakland employing some 560 people. The Port extends approximately 19 miles along the east side of the Oakland Estuary from the border of the city of Emeryville immediately north of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, to the south to the border of the city of San Leandro. Port facilities include four major marine terminal areas covering almost 1,000 acres; Oakland International Airport which covers an area of over 2,500 acres; 1,100 acres of commercial, industrial, recreational and other land; 950 acres of underdeveloped land; and about 9,800 surface acres of water area.