PORT OF SEATTLE 
MEMORANDUM 
COMMISSION AGENDA               Item No.      7c 
STAFF BRIEFING 
Date of Meeting     April 26, 2016 
DATE:    April 18, 2016 
TO:     Ted Fick, Chief Executive Officer 
FROM:    Stephanie Jones Stebbins, Director, Maritime Environment and
Sustainability 
SUBJECT:  Earth Day Briefing, Maritime Environment and Sustainability 
SYNOPSIS 
The purpose of this staff briefing is to highlight several recent success stories of our
maritime environmental efforts. These include annual Green Gateway Partners awards
for cruise lines, Green Marine recertification, and habitat restoration activities.
The Green Gateway Partners initiative is one element of the Port's maritime air quality 
program that focuses on reducing air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions and
outreach to port business partners. This program is one tool to implement the Northwest
Ports Clean Air Strategy as well as the Century Agenda goal to reduce air pollutants;
however, it encompasses a broad range of environmental performance. 
The Port of Seattle joined Green Marine in 2013, and this is our third annual assessment.
Green Marine is a voluntary environmental certification program for the North American
marine industry.  This program addresses key environmental issues via relevant
performance indicators. The principal strength of Green Marine certification derives from
a comprehensive environmental program, emphasizing improvement. The Green Marine
program provides a framework for marine companies to evaluate, measure, and reduce
their environmental footprint. The program also includes a benchmark system for
industry comparison and progressing toward higher tiers of performance. 
In recent months, the Port has improved shoreline, fish, and wildlife habitat at three
locations in the Duwamish Waterway. Bank-line stabilization and environmental
rehabilitation at these sites has contributed approximately 1.4 acres of shoreline and
intertidal enhancement to the Port's Century Agenda habitat goal to restore, create, or 
enhance 40 acres of habitat in the Green/Duwamish Watershed and Elliott Bay. 
BACKGROUND 
Green Gateway Partners Awards:  This is the sixth year that the Port has recognized
qualifying cruise lines for their superior environmental programs, continuous
improvement, and innovative approaches. (With the formation of The Northwest Seaport
Alliance, the container line element was dropped from our program in 2015.  The

Template revised May 30, 2013.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Ted Fick, Chief Executive Officer 
April 18, 2016 
Page 2 of 4 
Alliance may develop a similar award program in the future.) The name of the awards  
Green Gateway Partners   complements the Port's commitment to environmental
sustainability as a green gateway.
Green Gateway Partners must exceed current environmental regulations and industry
standards in at least three of five categories: (1) air emission and energy conservation;
(2) water management; (3) waste reduction; (4) environmental awareness and, (5) thirdparty
certification. All six-cruise lines applying for the award met this threshold. We also
identified a top "Program Innovator" and "Technology Innovator" for exemplary
initiatives that push the industry forward with sustainable actions.  A third party
consultant, EA Engineering, Science and Technology, Inc., scored applications. 
The 2015 Green Gateway Partners awards are as follows:
Carnival Cruise Line  Green Gateway Partner Award plus Program Innovator
Award (for its Waste Reduction Incentive Program which monitors and analyses
vessels' rates of waste reduction and recycling) 
Holland America Line  Green Gateway Partner Award plus Technology
Innovator Award (for employing multiple strategies, including early adoption of a
fuel treatment system, and achieving year over year reductions in fuel use, air
emissions and greenhouse gas emissions) 
Celebrity Cruises  Green Gateway Partner Award 
Norwegian Cruise Lines - Green Gateway Partner Award 
Princess Cruises - Green Gateway Partner Award 
Royal Caribbean International  Green Gateway Partner Award
Winners were honored at the Cruise Annual All Agency Pre-Season Reception on April
14, 2016. Each company received a Green Gateway flag and commemorative plaque in
recognition of their award, and the Port issued a news release on the awards. 
Green Marine recertification: The Port has just completed its third self-certification and
will be performing its second third-party audit of its Green Marine Benchmarks in 2016.
While we are maintaining our performance scores from last year, there are key strategies
that are still being developed that will be included in the Maritime and Economic
Development Energy Performance and Sustainability Plan. These strategies will enable
the Port of Seattle to achieve a score of four out of five or higher for all Green Marine
categories.
Following are brief descriptions of our scores in the various categories: 
Aquatic Invasive Species  our score is 1 out of 1 for supporting efforts to
control aquatic invasive plants.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Ted Fick, Chief Executive Officer 
April 18, 2016 
Page 3 of 4 
Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollutants  our score is 3 out of 5.  We received
points for our comprehensive Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy, maritime
emissions inventory and limited greenhouse gas inventory processes. To achieve
a higher level, we will need to complete an energy performance plan that we have
initiated and hope to finalize in early 2016. This will enable us to meet Green
Marine standards for tracking and reducing energy use and associated greenhouse
gas emissions. 
Spill Prevention - our score is 4 out of 5. We have excellent spill prevention
programs in place. We were not able to achieve the highest score because a small
portion of facility stormwater is not collected and treated. Approximately 90% of
the Port's stormwater is collected in facility catch basin and pipe systems, actively
controlled by stormwater best management practices, and conveyed to authorized
outfalls. Approximately 12% of this stormwater receives specialized treatment,
including modified catch basins and treatment vaults. The remaining ten percent
of the port's stormwater represents surface water drainage from un-improved sites
and landscape areas. 
Community Impacts  our score is 5 out of 5. This reflects our responsiveness
to external communications; work with community groups; and programs to
reduce potential adverse noise, dust, light, and traffic effects. 
Environmental Leadership  our score is 5 out of 5, for successful efforts such
as  promoting best environmental practices by tenants and customers, providing
habitat restoration and shoreline public access, and having shorepower at T-91. 
Waste Management *(Optional for 2015)  our score is 2 out of 5. The Port is
missing a couple of key actions that will be implemented in the next cycle of
verification.  It is anticipated with the introduction of these actions the Port's
score will likely move up to a 4 out of 5 in future assessments. 
Although our programs continued to make progress in 2015, the scores are very similar to
those we achieved last year.
Habitat Enhancement: The Port has completed three beneficial shoreline, fish, and
wildlife habitat actions in the Duwamish Waterway in the past seven months. The
projects demonstrate bank-line construction and enhancement techniques new to the
Duwamish Waterway and represent  cooperative effort with the City of Seattle,
Washington State agencies, and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe. Each of the actions
described below represent modest progress toward the Port's Century Agenda habitat 
goal. 
Terminal 108: Using source control funds provided by the Washington Department of 
Ecology, the Port applied alternative shoreline stabilization methods to remedy acute
bank-line erosion at Terminal 108, combining bank-line protection, enhancement of
important natural resource values, and maintenance of Port property assets. Eroding
bank-line, releasing potentially contaminated sediments to the Duwamish Waterway, was
replaced with approximately 280 linear feet of native riparian and marsh vegetation, held

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Ted Fick, Chief Executive Officer 
April 18, 2016 
Page 4 of 4 
in place with large-woody-debris.  The Terminal 108 bank-line stabilization project
enhanced approximately 0.25 acres of riparian shoreline and intertidal habitat. 
South Riverside Drive: Working with funds and resources provided by the Washington
Department of Transportation, the Seattle Parks Department, and the Seattle Parks
Foundation, the Port removed approximately 95 tons of industrial debris from the 
Duwamish waterway, stabilized approximately 285 linear feet of eroding bank-line using
anchored large-woody-debris and native vegetation, and added approximately 6,000
square feet of public use/open space to the existing Eighth Avenue South-South Park
public shoreline access site. This cooperative project enhanced approximately 0.35 acres,
combined intertidal habitat and native riparian vegetation buffer area. 
Terminal 105: Using funds provided by the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe through a state
habitat improvement grant award, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and the Port worked in
partnership to enhance habitat conditions at the south margin of the Port's Terminal 105
public shoreline access site. The Port removed approximately 475 tons of inter-tidal
debris, consisting of industrial rubble and creosote piling. Additional funds from the
Muckleshoot Indian Tribe are now available to stabilize approximately 310 linear feet of
bank-line using riparian vegetation and anchored large-woody-debris techniques, similar
to shoreline restoration actions completed Terminal 108 and South Riverside Drive. 
Enhancement work completed in February 2016, totals approximately 0.8 acres inter-tidal
and shallow sub-tidal aquatic area. 
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS BRIEFING 
PowerPoint presentation 
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS 
December 8, 2015  The Commission authorized execution of an interlocal
agreement with the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe for fish and wildlife habitat
rehabilitation at Terminal 105. 
December  3,  2013    The  Commission  authorized  the  Environmental
Remediation Liabilities program for 2014, including a project for source control
at Terminal 108. 
June 5, 2012  The Commission authorized a shoreline rehabilitation project
adjacent to the South Riverside Drive right-of-way.