Reducing Diesel Emissions at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry

Greening Transportation at the Border

Dave Fege

USEPA

February 24, 2011

Overview

• Background Information

– Trucks

– Health Impact

– Air Quality

• Actions taken to (coincidentally) reduce emissions at Otay Port of Entry

• Strategies to reduce idling

What is the problem?Emissions from idling trucks waiting to cross the border

Why are idling trucks a problem?

• Emissions contribute to air quality problems in border communities

• …Especially in the immediate vicinity of the port

• …Especially for customs workers in the port

• …Especially for commuters who walk across the border

• …Especially for drivers sitting in their vehicles

Lots of trucks cross the Otay Mesa Port of Entry…every day!!

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Annual Northbound Truck Crossings-Otay Mesa

How long are the trucks waiting…and idlingat Otay Mesa POEFHWA Study-2001

• FHWA estimated wait times at Otay Mesa Port of Entry in 2001

• Three-day study

• Average crossing time: about 60 minutes (between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.)

How long are these trucks idling?

How long are the trucks waiting…and idlingat Otay Mesa POEFWHA Study 2010

• FHWA did another study for the January 2009 to March 2010 timeframe.

• The mean travel time was varied from 37 minutes to 65 minutes

• The median travel time was between 42 minutes and 53 minutes

Human Health Impacts

• Objective of study: was to measure in-vehicle exposures experienced by persons commuting by car across the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

• Ultra fine particle concentrations and carbon monoxide levels inside vehicles were significantly higher than inside cars on Tijuana or San Diego roadways

Human Health Impacts (con’t)

• The border wait time contributed a median between 39% and 60% of all peak exposures to ultra fine particles and black carbon

• Significant reductions in exposures could occur by reducing wait time at the border. New border crossings should consider performance standards for delays and consider vehicle pollution in design.

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PM-10 -Annual Arithmetic MeanOtay and Escondido Monitors

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San Diego Air Pollution Control District

What is being done?

• Truck Retrofits

– Fifty heavy duty drayage trucks were retrofitted with Diesel Oxidation Catalysts in 2006 (25% reduction in PM-10

• San Diego Air Pollution Control District implemented project with a grant of $225,000 from EPA

– Twelve drayage trucks were retrofitted with Diesel Particulate Filters (85% reduction in PM-10)

• San Diego Air Pollution Control District implemented project with a grant of $150,000 from EPA

What is being done?

• Truck Repowering

– EPA contributed $200, 000 to repower nine heavy-duty diesel trucks operating in the Otay region

What is being done?New California Truck RequirementsCompliance Schedule for HeavierTrucks

Truck with gross vehicle weight rating greater than 26,000 pounds

Engine Year Requirement from January 1

Pre-1994 No requirements until 2015, then 2010 engine

1994-1995 No requirements until 2016, then 2010 engine

1996-1999 PM filter from 2012 to 2020, then 2010 engine

2000-2004 PM filter from 2013 to 2021, then 2010 engine

2005-2006 PM filter from 2014 to 2022, then 2010 engine

2007-2009 No requirements until 2023, then 2010 engine

2010 Meets final requirements

EPA Anti-Idling Project--2009

• Objective: Develop a feasible concept for using anti-idling at Otay Mesa Port of Entry to reduce diesel emissions and improve air quality

• Coordinating research with San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG)

• Informed by discussions with U.S. and Mexican public and private sector stakeholders

Stakeholder Discussions

• CabAire, IdleAire, Shorepower

• SANDAG

• U.S. EPA

• SEMARNAT (Baja California)

• San Diego Air Pollution Control District

• CA Air Resources Board

• City of San Diego

• San Diego County

• San Diego Air Pollution Control Board

• CalTrans

• Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection

• Aduanas Mexico

• U.S. General Services Administration

• State of Baja

• NADBank/BECC

• U.S. and Mexican Trucking and Industry Associations (CANACINTRA, CANACAR)

Two options

• Strategy A: Batch Processing

• Strategy B: Truck Stop Electrification

Strategy A: Traffic Controls on Existing Roadways

• Uses traffic controls on POE access road to process trucks crossing in “batches”

– When congestion reaches a certain point, traffic signals stop vehicles

– Drivers are encouraged (or required) to turn engines off

– Drivers wait while batches in front of them cross the border, then they are signaled to cross

• Strategy is being implemented for passenger vehicles at the Canada-U.S. Peace Arch POE

Strategy A: Traffic

Controls on Existing

Roadways

Strategy B: Truck Stop Electrification (TSE)

Trucks turn off their engines at a TSE

facility and hook up to external air

conditioning, communications, and

power systems…

..or use an external

power supply to run

on-board equipment

TSE Sites in U.S.

Strategy B: Mandatory AI/TSE Facility

• Requires all vehicles at POE to:

– Enter a parking area with TSE equipment (and possibly amenities)

– Turn off their engines

– Wait for a signal to cross the border via an appointment system

• Most applicable to new fee-based POE’s

• Being implemented at San Luis Rio Colorado

TSE at POE: How would it work?

• Truck arrives at staging area with TSE technology

– Assigned appointment number

– Turns off engine; hooks up to power, communications, entertainment

– Driver rests, uses amenities, does paperwork, etc.

• Appointment system signals truck to proceed to customs facility

– Truck accesses facility directly or goes to front of the line

• Potential for integration with customs paperwork procedures and other logistics systems

Strategy B: Mandatory AI/TSE

Facility

“Back of the Envelope” Estimates for TSE

• Fuel and Maintenance Savings

• Emissions Benefits

• Cost

• Land Requirements

Assumptions

• 3,000 truck crossings/day; 250 days/year

• 14 hours of operation per day; 5 days a week

• Mid-range wait time is 45 minutes per truck

• Hour of idling uses a gallon of diesel ($3/gal) and costs $0.75/hr in maintenance

• Burning a gallon of diesel produces: 22.2 lbs CO2, 135g Nox, 3.68g PM

• TSE space costs $6,500-$18,000

• Every 25 parking spaces require one acre

TSE Parking Area Size

50 Spaces 100 Spaces 150 Spaces

Acreage required 2 4 6

TSE Equipment Cost:

Power pedestal only $325,000 $650,000 $975,000

Off-board air, heat, etc. $900,000 $1,800,000 $2,700,000

Trucks accommodated per 14 hr

day:

45 minute wait 933 1867 2800

90 minute wait 467 933 1400

180 minute wait 233 467 700

Land Use and Cost Results

Benefits Results

• Cutting idling time by 75% through AI/TSE

• Saves over $3 million/yr in fuel & maintenance

• Reduces:

• 4,500 tons of CO2 ,

• 2 tons of particular matter

• 60 tons of Nox

Strategy A: Pros and Cons

• Pros:

– Requires little new infrastructure

– No fees are charged to drivers

– Can apply to all vehicles using the POE

– Relatively easy and inexpensive to implement

• Cons:

– Requires more dedicated lanes than may be available

– Requires more road space to hold vehicles stopped at signals—may exacerbate congestion

– No TSE for drivers seeking external power for onboard equipment or refrigeration units

Strategy B: Pros and Cons

• Pros:

– Can apply to all vehicles using the POE

– TSE costs can be paid through border crossing fee

– Provides TSE facilities for equipment/refrigeration

• Cons:

– May require large parcel of land for parking area

– Cost for TSE equipment and land can be significant

– Unless subsidized, limited to fee-based crossings and to trucks willing to pay such fees

Recommendations

1. All new POE’s should consider strategies for reducing idling

– BECC & NADBank should evaluate AI/TSE as an air emissions mitigation strategy

– Decisions not to have AI/TSE should show that it isn’t viable or that benefits are not sufficient

2. Existing POE’s with congestion issues should evaluate options for retrofitting with AI/TSE infrastructure

Recommendations

3. For the Mexican side of Otay Mesa, the U.S. and Mexico should jointly conduct a feasibility study to evaluate:

– Use of traffic controls to “batch” trucks through the port (Strategy A)

Future Work• Evaluate other northbound and southbound truck

and passenger vehicle crossings for AI/TSE

• Evaluate existing or planned POE AI/TSE facilities

– San Luis Rio Colorado Commercial POE

– U.S.-Canada Peace Arch passenger vehicle crossing

• Improve quantification of emissions reductions from AI/TSE strategies

• Analyze AI/TSE staffing requirements and operations and maintenance costs

• Conduct outreach with Mexican trucking and shipping companies about AI/TSE options

Future Work

• Develop “model” approaches for deploying AI/TSE at new POE’s

• Conduct pilot projects to test and evaluate AI/TSE strategies

• Share data and collaborate with global climate change planning efforts in the U.S. and Mexico

• Increased planning and coordination between U.S. and Mexican federal agencies for new POEs and renovation at existing POE’s at the federal level

Sources

• Measuring Cross-Border Travel Times for Freight: Otay Mesa International Border Crossing Final Report, September 2010, U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration

• Evaluation of Travel Time Methods to Support Mobility Performance Monitoring: Otay Mesa, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation

• Trans-border Commuters’ Exposure to Harmful Air Pollution: Air Quality Inside Cars Crossing at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, Project Number: A-06-2, Penelope J.E. Quintana, San Diego State University 2009 (unpublished)

• Truck Stop Electrification and Anti-Idling as a Diesel Emissions Reduction Strategy at U.S.-Mexico Ports of Entry, April 2009, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/Border2012/docs/reports/OtayTruckStopElectrificationReport2009.pdf

• Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportatoin, www.bts.gov