The Port makes considerable efforts to prevent pollutants potentially produced by industrial and maritime activities at the Port from reaching the surrounding waterways. Over the past 5 years, the Port spent more than $5 million on stormwater programs, including the following:

• The Port labeled 100% of the storm drains on Port property with “No Discharge.”
• The Port upgraded the wash pad to significantly reduce the chance of overspray and potential stormwater contamination.
• The Port installed three “Safe Drains” near the Port fueling station. In the event of a spill, these will allow for the quick closure of nearby storm drains, thereby preventing a release to the aquatic environment.
• The Port installs and maintains sediment traps in storm drains at key locations that are most susceptible to pollution. The Port upgraded the stormwater conveyance system on the East Complex by installing several checkdams. These dams are designed to reduce the velocity of the stormwater runoff, which dissipates some of the energy and allows solid pollutants to drop out of suspension before the water is discharged to a waterway.
• The Port maintains and operates an aeration facility in the Stockton Deep Water Ship Channel (DWSC; which is within the San Joaquin River) to help alleviate the problems associated with low dissolved oxygen concentrations.
• The Port maintains and operates a detention pond on the Port’s East Complex that collects stormwater and allows for settling and removal of contaminants before the water is released into the San Joaquin River.

The Port is developing longer-term plans and strategies to better understand and reduce air emissions related to Port development and projects. As part of this effort, the Port is conducting a Port-wide criteria pollutant and GHG emissions inventory. The Technical Working Group for the emissions inventory includes Port representatives and technical experts, including stakeholder agency representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), California Air Resources Board (ARB), and SJVAPCD.

The Port is also working with tenants and the SJVAPCD to repower and/or retrofit their existing cargo handling equipment with lower emissions engines for improved air quality. Projects that have resulted in direct emissions reductions, demonstrating the beginning of the Port’s longer-term emissions plans and strategies, include the following:

• Replacing four older gasoline-powered trucks with new zero-emission electric vehicles for use on docks and implementing more than 30 electrical vehicle charging stations.
• Acquiring two zero-emission, multi-use DANNAR mobile power sources fitted with forklift, scissor lift, and dump capabilities.
• Working in tandem with the Ports of Long Beach and Oakland, the Port was awarded grant funding as part of ARB’s Zero- and Near-Zero Emission Freight Facilities Program to receive 34 forklifts from XL Lifts, a company specializing in zero- and near-zero-emissions forklifts.
  • In addition to these units, a zero-emissions railcar mover has been ordered and is scheduled to arrive in late 2020.

The Port has implemented habitat and species programs that use innovative approaches towards invasive species mitigation, while protecting and providing habitat for special-status species. Several of the Port’s programs are discussed below.

The Port is a key contributor to implementation of the Antioch Dunes Restoration Project. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) conducts annual dredging of the Stockton DWSC to improve navigability, and starting in 2013, the Port has worked with USACE and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to deliver dredged sand to the refuge to replenish habitat for endangered plant and insect species, including the Antioch Dunes Evening Primrose. The Port and its partners have completed the first cell of the restoration, holding approximately 40,000 cubic yards of sand material. The Antioch Dunes Evening Primrose has voluntarily revegetated the area, and its population has come back to its highest level since the 1970s.

The Port has installed barn owl nest boxes throughout the East and West complexes to provide nesting habitat for barn owls. The Port currently has 15 barn owl nesting boxes, which have housed over 200 new owls. The nest boxes provide valuable and safe habitat, natural rodent control, and two boxes are outfitted with streaming cameras, which allow the public to learn more about Port wildlife. The Port also maintains a number of bat roosting boxes, which provide bat habitat and natural insect control.

Arundo is an invasive giant reed that has spread throughout the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (Delta). In the past, arundo has been controlled with heavy use of herbicides. However, the Port has begun an eradication program based on two more environmentally friendly approaches: first, cutting and tarping the arundo, based on research conducted at the University of the Pacific, and second, introduction of arundo wasps, a tiny 1-centimeter-long black insect that is harmless to humans. These wasps feed and reproduce only on arundo, laying eggs in their chutes, which usually leads to the death of the plant.

The Port has recently formed two community engagement groups. The first group is comprised of representatives from the Port, the Port’s community outreach experts, and environmental managers from the Port’s business partners and tenants. This group has been formed to improve communication between the Port, business partners, and tenants; identify information gaps; facilitate opportunities for collaboration, cooperation, and problem solving; and define key strategies to reduce emissions and improve air quality through advancing technologies at the Port.

The second engagement group, the Environmental Justice Task Force, is currently being formed to amplify local voices. It will comprise representatives from the Port, the Port’s community outreach experts, members of the community, environmental justice groups, and local organizations. The Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Stockton, STRIVE Giving, and PUENTES have already expressed interest in joining this group, and the Port will reach out to a wide range of other community groups, including the Stockton community AB 617 Steering Committee, to ensure this task force has a diverse representation of the Stockton community. This group is being formed to create a communication channel between concerned citizens, community groups, environmental justice organizations, and the Port, thus establishing a strategic network with opportunities for enhanced communication, cooperation, collaboration, and transparency.