Harbor Prosperity
Environment
As an involved and socially responsible member of the community, The Port of Green Bay ensures its commercial shipping activities are balanced with consideration for the surrounding environment. The Port of Green Bay and its Terminal Operators all conform to a wide range of practices that benefit the community both economically and ecologically.
Highlighted below are a sampling of The Port of Green Bay’s ongoing efforts aimed at restoring, conserving and protecting our natural resources and the environment.
Cat Island Chain Restoration Project
The Cat Island Restoration Project aims to restore environmentally significant islands in lower Green Bay using clean navigational dredged material. In turn, these barrier islands will again protect the duck creek watershed and restore them into rich habitats for fish, birds and mammals.
Started in 1998, the Cat Island Project is a joint-venture involving the US Army Corps of Engineers; Brown County; Wisconsin Dept of Transportation (WDOT); Wisconsin Dept of Natural Resources (WDNR); University of Wisconsin-Sea Grant; University of Wisconsin-Green Bay; US Fish & Wildlife.
Aquatic Invasive Species/Ballast Water Policy
Ballast water is a global issue that has received considerable attention over the past several years. Ships unloading cargo must first take in water – or ballast – to maintain their stability. Ballast tanks often contain aquatic organisms, which when filled with water may be unloaded into the local environment. Non-native aquatic species have the potential to negatively impact the natural environment.
Ballast water management requirements in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System are the most stringent in the world. Wisconsin’s 15 commercial ports, including the Port of Green Bay, move over 40 million metric tons of cargo annually.
Since 1994, ocean-going vessels transiting the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway have been required to exchange ballast at sea prior to entering the St. Lawrence Seaway. This ballast exchange has been identified as one means of reducing the probability of transferring aquatic nuisance species by 80%.
To further resolve the problem of aquatic nuisance species, the Port of Green Bay and other port and transportation related agencies, associations and industries, have for years been calling for a strong, uniform federal approach to the protection of the Great Lakes, and all US waters.
Highway H2O
The Port of Green Bay is part of Highway H2O, a 2,400-mile marine highway that runs between Canada and the United States. Made up of the St. Lawrence River, St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes, Hwy H2O flows directly into our commercial, industrial and agricultural heartland.
Transporting goods via Hwy H2O provides substantial economic benefits:
- Energy efficiency – On a 1/4 gallon of fuel one ton of freight can travel 150 miles by ship, compared with less than 65 miles by train and less than 20 miles by truck
- Reduced emissions – Ships only emit one tenth the greenhouse gas emissions that trucks produce and half that of trains
As a part of Hwy H2O the Port of Green Bay continues to promote and utilize the economic and environmental efficiencies related to waterborne transportation.
