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 For
more than 90 years, the Port of Houston Authority has
been a vital part of the Houston landscape. As we conduct
our day-to-day business, we are always mindful of the
community that we all share.
Today, the Port Authority looks forward
to expanding our business capabilities all the while
maintaining high standards for being a good neighbor.
As we move forward with port redevelopment, we make
our plans while setting a new standard in the maritime
industry for environmental stewardship and community
responsiveness.
 For
example, in the spring of 2003, the Port Authority reopened
Redfish Island. This plot of land had been a favorite
anchorage for boaters until it succumbed to subsidence.
Working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the
Beneficial Uses Group — a coalition of federal
and state agencies — and at the request of the
community, the Port Authority led the efforts to rebuild
that island. Today, it is again a favorite boating destination
as well as a bird habitat and rookery. We also designed
Redfish Island to encourage oyster growth, to reestablish
itself as an oyster reef.
This is just one example of how the
Port of Houston strives to protect and to enhance our
environment. The port has developed and implemented
award-winning programs that balance the needs of global
trade and commerce with local environmental protection.
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The Port Authority's environmental
affairs department continues to execute PHA's environmental
policy and procedures. The PHA has implemented an Environmental
Management System (EMS) to our environmental procedures
and completed the EMS pilot program with the US Environmental
Protection Agency. Our efforts earned the Port of Houston
Authority national recognition in March 2002.
Just five months later, the PHA became the first US
port authority to achieve ISO 14001 certification, which
is an international standard that manages environmental
impacts throughout an organization. As a part our EMS,
the port developed and adopted environmental goals for
reducing air pollution, improving stormwater quality
and increasing waste recycling. In September 2002, the
PHA received the American Association of Port Authority's
(AAPA) Calvin Hurst Award; this award is the highest
environmental achievement created by the AAPA, Harbors
and Navigations division.
To further demonstrate our commitment to the environmental
stewardship, the Port Authority is a member of the Clean
Texas Program at the Bronze level. The Clean Texas Program
was created by the Texas Commission of Environmental
Quality (TCEQ) as a voluntary environmental leadership
program to protect air, water, and land resources in
Texas. To learn more about The Clean Texas Program
click here.
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The Port of Houston Authority Central
Maintenance and Barbours Cut facilities have been members
of The National Environmental Performance Track since
2003. The National Environmental Performance Track is
a partnership that recognizes top environmental performance
among participating U.S. facilities of all types, sizes,
and complexity, public and private. Program partners
are providing leadership in many areas, including preventing
pollution at its source. Currently, the program has
about 400 members and welcomes all qualifying facilities.
Performance Track is open to facilities of all types,
sizes, and complexity, public or private, manufacturing
or service-oriented. To learn more about The National
Environmental Performance Track click here.
The following documents are available
in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). If you do not
have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you may obtain a free copy
of the software by clicking on the button below.
Environmental
Compliance Policy (307 K)
Effectiveness
Evaluation of Promising Stormwater Treatment Technology
— Final Project Report (333 K)
General
Information About MS4s (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer
Systems) (1.88 MB)
The PHA obtained a grant from the
General Land Office, the state of Texas agency that
administers the Coastal Zone Management Program, to
evaluate a promising, proprietary storm water treatment
device known as Stormceptor® which is marketed by
the Stormceptor® Corporation and CSR Hydro. The
selected evaluation study site was at the PHA's Barbours
Cut Maintenance Facility located at the Barbours Cut
Terminal. The evaluation was based on a comparison of
quality assured sampling data collected from storm water
runoff influent and effluent through storm water treatment
device. Due to some technical difficulties and the termination
of the grant contract period, the evaluation study report
was produced prior to the sampling and analysis of the
planned number of rainfall events. The report includes
sampling results for three rainfall events. The PHA
is committed to proceeding with the evaluation study.
CCC Grant Report
The Port of Houston Authority received
a Coastal Coordination Council grant from the General
Land Office to evaluate a storm water best management
practice using phytoremediation and biofiltering. The
project employed the use of mulch socks and wetland
plants to retard storm water flow to allow solids to
settle, resulting in a reduced pollutant load. The project
ran from March 2006 through September 2007. In order
to obtain a copy of the report, contact Nicole D. Hausler
at 713-670-2683 or nhausler@poha.com.
For more information about local environmental
projects visit the "betterbay"
Web site.
Last updated: 08/26/08
Port
of Houston Authority
111 East Loop North • Houston, Texas 77029
P.O. Box 2562 • Houston, Texas 77252-2562
Phone: 713-670-2400
Copyright 2006 Port of
Houston Authority • All Rights Reserved
For questions and comments, send an e-mail.
Please include company name and phone number, when appropriate,
so we may better respond to your inquiry.
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