Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn, Acting Deputy District Engineer Maj. Kimberly Colloton and project manager Josh Burnam personify the close relationship between the Corps and the city at the Port of Los Angeles.

Debbie Vasquez is a lifelong San Pedro resident. She and her 9-year-old son Jake live about a mile north of the Port of Los Angeles, in a quiet neighborhood where many of the homes date from the 1930s.

From their second floor, she and Jake can see the mantis-like cargo cranes and football-field-long ships docked at the port. And although they usually can’t see it, Debbie and Jake are aware of another presence at the port—air pollution.

Jake suffers from asthma, which is one reason Debbie Vasquez was elated to hear about the port’s new cleaner-air technology. Unveiled on summer’s first day at Berth 100, a wharf leased by China Shipping Co., Alternative Marine Power (AMP) can be described as the world’s largest extension cord. It allows moored ships to plug into electric power to run their engines, rather than the dirty diesel fuel they usually use. “”This unprecedented technology will make Los Angeles’ environment healthier by eliminating tons of pollution each day,” L.A. Mayor Jim Hahn said.

Plug it in: Officials representing the city, port, China Shipping and other government, environmental and civic groups connect load to source, establishing the world's first AMP'ed commercial container ship.

Called “cold iron” because engines are shut off while in port, the new technology is soon likely to have global applications. “Other ports are watching the developments in southern California,” the Journal of Commerce recently reported. “Once ‘cold-ironing’ becomes common in the nation’s largest port complex, it will likely spread to other ports that are under pressure to reduce pollution.”

The Los Angeles District has been closely involved with Berth 100 and China Shipping for years. As the lead federal agency responsible for work and discharges of fill in navigable waters of the U.S., the Corps Regulatory Branch was originally tasked with evaluating permit applications for the first construction phase of China Shipping’s new terminal—Berth 100.

Because of a lawsuit by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and other plaintiffs, as well as community concerns over the scale and impact of the port’s operations, the Regulatory Branch team had to consider the connection between issuing a permit and its impact on air quality and traffic around the port.

“We have been urging the port to investigate, develop and implement new technologies to balance environmental impacts with economic development,” explained Josh Burnam, senior project manager for the Regulatory Branch’s North Coast Section and the project manager responsible for permit actions at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. “Other communities and Corps Districts are starting to recognize the impact of air quality (around ports). It’s the wave of the future.”

After the Summer Solstice ceremony plugging in the AMP technology, Burnam took Acting Deputy Commander MAJ Kimberly Colloton and Acting Regulatory Branch Chief Doug Pomeroy to Knoll Hill, a San Pedro landmark. It overlooks the port’s 7,500 acres and 43 miles of waterfront and gives a regulator’s-eye view of the District’s single biggest project responsibility.

From a perch on Knoll Hill overlooking the Port of Los Angeles, project manager Josh Burnam (center) discusses ongoing and planned port projects with Acting Deputy District Engineer Maj. Kimberly Colloton and Acting Regulatory Branch Chief Doug Pomeroy.

In many ways, the UCLA grad’s Corps career has been focused on the port. He’s an avid fisherman—offshore, deep sea, tuna—so he likes to work around ports and marinas. He also pumps iron regularly, which helps when it comes to the heavy lifting needed to enforce the federal laws governing the port and its operations.

So it was with no small measure of satisfaction that Burnam watched the plug-in ceremony at Berth 100. The Chinese container ship Xin Yang Zhou became the first vessel to “hotel” at the dock while using electrical power instead of its diesel engines. Port officials said the process would remove more than one ton of smog-forming nitrous oxide and 87 pounds of particulate matter each day the ship uses AMP.

“With every AMP ship that is plugged in, we remove as much pollution from our air as is generated by 16,000 truck trips,” said LA City Councilwoman Janice Hahn. Echoed China Shipping Group President Li Kelin: “Air quality is an issue not only for the people of Los Angeles, but for all people. We are proud that China Shipping was the first shipping line to embrace the AMP technology.”

Port officials estimate that the cost of retrofitting container vessels for AMP will range from $200,000 to $500,000 per ship. They’re currently negotiating with other shipping companies to partner in the technology. So far, six other firms have signed a memorandum of understanding with the port for future use of AMP while their container vessels are berthed: Evergreen America, Mitsui OSK, Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Orient Overseas Container Line, P&O Nedlloyd and the Yang Ming Line.

Project manager Josh Burnam stands near the "world's largest extension cord." Providing 6.6 kilovolts to Chinese container ship Xin Yan Zhou, Alternative Maritime Power eliminates the need for berthed ships to run diesel engines and will significantly reduce air pollution at the port.

Todd Campbell, policy director at the Coalition for Clean Air, another plaintiff in the lawsuit, noted the port’s crucial role as a gateway to trade with Asia. “However, growth cannot come at the expense of our environment and public health,” he said. “Today we’re unveiling a tool that will help us keep pollution in check without stifling economic expansion.”

John Greenwood, president of the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council, said the people who work in and around San Pedro, such as longshore workers and crane operators, would benefit from the technology. “We will all breathe easier because of what you’re doing here today,” he added.

Which is just fine for Debbie and Jake Vasquez. Jake plays soccer and baseball and walks their dog around the neighborhood, so he’s a typically active boy. With San Pedro’s air destined to get cleaner, says Debbie, “this new technology will be awesome.”

You could say she was amped.