The reduction in emissions is due in part to stricter federal standards and in part to efforts by the state, the Times said. After a 2007 study revealed the level of emissions from the ports, the Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Washington offered grants to help tug companies re-power boats with cleaner engines.
Five years after federal regulators discovered that ports contributed to a third of the worst air pollution in the Puget Sound area, a new survey reported Tuesday that toxic exhaust has declined by as much as 50 percent at the ports, the Seattle Times said.
The ports also launched programs to reduce emissions after the 2007 study was released. According to the Times, the ports of Seattle and Tacoma subsidized fuel for vessels that used fuel lower in sulfur than what the EPA required. The Port of Seattle also offered incentives for truckers to drive vehicles with cleaner-burning engines.