05-29-2003 Bayport Expansion Review Committee Meeting

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II> e e About The Port of Houston Authority . The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public ! facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 2S-mile long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, more than 6,600 vessels call at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage, second in overall total tonnage, and sixth largest in the world. The Port Authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange. For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com Position Paper USACE'S FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT ON THE PROPOSED BAYPORT CONTAINER AND CRUISE TERMINAL The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) prepared and released on May 16, 2003 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) evaluates the Bayport Container & Cruise Terminal (Bayport project) .proposed by the Port of Houston Authority (PHA) along with alternative sites picked for review by the USACE. The FEIS takes into consideration all of the public comments that were submitted following the USACE's release of the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) in November 2001. Comments on the FEIS are due by June 16, 2003. The USACE will consider comments on the FEIS in the finalization of their Record of Decision (ROD). The ROD is scheduled for July 28, 2003. The ROD will decide on one of the following actions: 1) issue the permit, 2) issue the permit with modifications or conditions, or 3) deny the permit. To. fulfill its regulatory obligations under federal law, the FEIS prepared by the USACE goes much further. 1. Air Quality Matters Bayport will comply with the Houston area~s clean air plan. In fact, all of the Bayport emissions were overestimated in the plan. Onsite Bayport nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions estimated in the FEIS are only 33.5% of the onsite Bayport emissions assumed and included in the clean air plan. . Emissions from Bayport will be below the health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) established by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the surrounding neighborhoods. Emissions from Bayport will be below the air quality standards for diesel particulate established by the EPA and the State of California. 5/19/2003 Page 3 of9