The Port of Baltimore is offering short-haul drayage operators and owners who scrap their older engine models up to $20,000 each toward the cost of a Class 8 vehicle that meets or exceeds the 2007 EPA emission certified engine standard.
Baltimore is the second port in the mid-Atlantic region to kick off the Dray Truck Replacement Program, funded by the port and the Environmental Protection Agency and administered by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Management Association and the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center, which is processing applications.
The Port of Virginia began the truck replacement program a year ago, said Susan Wierman, executive director of the nonprofit MARAMA, and plans are in the making to soon extend the $3 million-plus EPA SmartWay program to the Port of Philadelphia and Port of Wilmington, Del.
Trucks applying for program funds will be prioritized through a set of criteria, including the age of the truck and the number of trips it makes to and from the port. To receive the new truck funding, a trucker must show proof that the old vehicle being replaced has been scrapped so that it will not remain in service and create pollution.
