Port Canaveral Leads Congressional Briefing on Estuary Issues
Posted by Michelle Howard
Friday, July 28, 2017
Port Canaveral Environmental Director Bob Musser recently traveled to Washington, D.C. to brief the Congressional Estuary Caucus on the importance of the National Estuaries Program to the nation’s economy. Musser spoke at the Caucus’s third briefing at the request of the American Association of Port Authorities to educate Members of Congress on the private sector’s support for clean and healthy estuaries.
Port Canaveral has a long standing commitment to environmental stewardship and values the importance of seaport support to local estuaries. Port staff serve on the management board for the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program (IRLNEP) and have worked to ensure a sustainable environment for the Indian River Lagoon (IRL). The lagoon, much of which is located along Brevard County, is one of 28 “Estuaries of National Significance” and provides 72,000 jobs to the local economy. Port Canaveral works with state and local partners to ensure that infrastructure improvement projects undertaken by the Port consider IRL-friendly designs. Moreover, Port Canaveral provided $100,000 in funding for the IRLNEP to apply human behavior research to improve citizen knowledge, attitude and behaviors to ensure sustainability of the lagoon.
Last month, Port Canaveral was awarded “Green Marine” environmental certification in recognition of its environmental leadership and management. The Green Marine Program is a voluntary North American maritime industry certification initiative committed to advancing environmental excellence and promoting programs, plans, and initiatives that focus on surpassing Federal and State regulatory requirements. Program applicants are required to submit annual Self-Evaluation Reports, which must successfully pass a third-party review and verification process. Port Canaveral exceeded regulatory requirements in all categories, earning the highest score possible in Spill Prevention, which includes storm water management and pollutant reduction.