[custom_frame_right][/custom_frame_right]

PORTAGE, Ind. – (May 6, 2019) – The Northwest Indiana Partners for Clean Air (PCA) has selected the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor to receive the 2019 PCA Industrial Award. This award is in recognition of the voluntary actions taken in 2018 to improve air quality in Northwest Indiana.

PCA’s award system has four categories: Municipal, Industrial, Business, and Bicycle. According to PCA, this award is a way to recognize those entities that go above and beyond their regulatory requirements.

“We are extremely honored to receive this award,” said Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor Port Director Ian Hirt. “Operating as a good steward of the environment is integral to our commitment to be a good community neighbor. This award helps emphasize that our pledge to take care of our environment merges with our mission to develop and maintain a world-class port system.”

The PCA said the following actions are among those the organization considered noteworthy at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor:

• Its long-term commitment to environmental stewardship, including its membership in the binational Green Marine program
• Its eco-friendly and waterborne transporting of goods by reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. For example, a 1,000 foot Great Lakes ship can move the same tonnage as 564 rail cars or 2,340 semi-trucks
• The commitment by port management to convene an interactive meeting three times a year with tenants to discuss environmental goals such as air emissions
• The Port’s close association with South Shore Clean Cities to reduce diesel emissions throughout the port
• The Port secured a grant to minimize runoff by planting native trees and dune grasses
• The Port and many of its businesses have received diesel emission grants over the years to purchase things like hybrid vehicles and cleaner-burning diesel engines

PCA is a coalition of businesses, industry, governments, community groups and individuals committed to improving air quality through voluntary actions. Members of PCA develop air quality action plans, which identify voluntary measures that will be taken to reduce air pollution, particularly on Air Quality Action Days. Air Quality Action Days are days in which ground level ozone and particulate matter are predicated to reach unhealthy levels.

The PCA said the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor was nominated for the Industrial Award by Ms. Patty Nocek of the LaPorte County Health Department.

As the PCA Industrial Award winner, Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor on Friday, May 3, 2019, received a commemorative trophy presented at the Annual Partners for Clean Air Luncheon and Awards Ceremony.

About the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor: The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor opened in 1970 and is operated by Ports of Indiana, a statewide port authority operating three ports on the Ohio River and Lake Michigan. Established in 1961, the Ports of Indiana is a self-funded enterprise dedicated to growing Indiana’s economy by developing and maintaining a world-class port system. Information: portsofindiana.com. Follow us on Twitter: @PortsofIndiana.

###

Media contact: Shelley Triol striol@portsofindiana.com