Congratulations to the Association of Canadian Port Authorities for a successful 60th anniversary conference in St. John, NB last week. The theme was "Building for the Future" and the association did a wonderful job pulling together thought-leaders from around the globe to talk about everything from technology to automation. AAPA staff were in attendance and several AAPA members, including Mark McAndrews, port director of the Port of Pascagoula, and Christopher Cooley, director of environmental affairs from Port Tampa Bay, spoke on a panel titled "Best Practices in Building a Sustainable Future." We look forward to our continued collaboration! 

On September 11-12, port environmental professionals and aspiring port executives convened at AAPA’s Energy & Environment Seminar. Panel discussions focused on relevant topics in three focus areas: Air Emissions and Climate Change; Water Quality and Sediment; and Resiliency and Planning. More than 75 attendees from ports throughout the Hemisphere and port industry solution providers participated in the program in Jersey City, NJ. Speakers included representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, the World Port Sustainability Program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Green Marine, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, RightShip, the University of Washington-Tacoma and the University of Rhode Island. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey hosted the event with AAPA, welcoming attendees on September 12 and sponsoring lunch that day. Other sponsors included Kimley-Horn, Cardno and TRE Consulting, Inc. 

Port Canaveral is reconfiguring its public boat trailer parking near the Freddie Patrick Park Boat Ramp to accommodate construction of a state-of-the-art Cruise Terminal 3. The Georgia Port Authority approved $92 million for the Mason Mega Rail Terminal. Port of Oakland marine terminal operator, TraPac, is opening its night gates to accelerate containerized cargo flow.

New trucks entering service at the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles as of Oct. 1, 2018, must be model year 2014 or newer, as the San Pedro Bay ports move forward with efforts to improve air quality and reduce the health impacts of air pollution. The Port of San Diego has enrolled in Green Marine, North America’s largest voluntary environmental certification program for the maritime industry. The Port of Vancouver is pleased to announce its participation in the World Ports Climate Action Program.

The Port of Everett Commission awarded the Central Marina Improvements project contract to American Construction Company, Inc. The Port of Seattle has announced new partnerships with One America and World Relief to support local immigrant and refugee populations traveling through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac).