brazos river harbor navigation district - Port Freeport

PORT FREEPORT NEWSDow Chemical AwardedDow Chemical Freeport facility earns top environmental awardContributed PhotoRepresentatives of Texas Operations accepted the William M.Benkert Award at the API Tanker Conference in San Diego.Contributed PhotoMembers of the application team, along with TexasOperations Leadership.The Dow Chemical Co.’s Texas Operations facility, located within the PortFreeport complex, has garnered the highest environmental award of the U.S.Coast Guard.The Dow operation received the top William M. Benkert Award in the largebusiness facilities category – a stunning osprey statute. The awards are namedin honor of the late Rear Admiral Benkert, a distinguished Coast Guardofficer widely known for his leadership and vision in marine environmentalprotection.The award, presented June 26 at the American Petroleum Institute TankerConference in San Diego, recognizes outstanding achievement in marineenvironmental protection, honoring programs that far exceed mere compliancewith industrial and regulatory standards.Dow Freeport’s Marine & Terminal Operations (FMTO) is a leading shipperin the Port Freeport area, with some 7.5 million tons of bulk liquid materialsannually crossing its six docks. The product mix includes organic and inorganicchemicals, hydrocarbon feedstocks and liquefied gases.In 1996, Dow announced a series of ambitious goals to improve environment,health and safety performance over a 10-year period. Since that time, it hasachieved significant improvements compared with the baseline year of 1994,including:• 78% reduction in loss of primary containment (LOPC) incidents, such asleaks, breaks and spills• 41% reduction in pounds of waste generated per pound of product produced• 24% reduction in pounds of wastewater generated per pound ofproduct produced• 49% reduction in emissions of chemicals, excluding carbon monoxide,nitrogen monoxide/nitrogen dioxide and salts• 86% reduction in emissions of priority compounds• 59% reduction in volatile organic compound emissions• 80% reduction in process safety incidents• 88% improvement in Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA) ratingIn addition, Dow Freeport’s commitment extends to include outreach programs,employee volunteerism and corporate contributions.Reixach AAPA Committee ChairmanReixach named to chair caucus, resolutions committee of AAPAAs Port Freeport Executive DirectorA.J. “Pete” Reixach, Jr. assumes newleadership positions in the AmericanAssociation of Port Authorities, he looksto seize opportunities to bring greaterunderstanding of ports in the Gulf Coastregion.“My goal is to bring to AAPA and theport industry a new level of awareness ofGulf Coast ports, including the types andA.J. Reixach, Jr. characteristics of the cargoes we handle,Executive Port Director from steel and bulk commodities toliquefied natural gas,” said Reixach, who onSept. 14 was named chairman of AAPA’sGulf Caucus, as well as chairman of the AAPA Resolutions Committee.Reixach was selected by peers at the association’s 95 th annual convention, heldin New Orleans. He succeeds caucus chairman Gary P. LaGrange, presidentand chief executive officer of the Port of New Orleans.In his caucus chair role, Reixach assumes positions on the board of directorsand executive committee of AAPA. The association, with 161 port members,is the leading alliance of Western Hemisphere ports, protecting and advancingthe common interests of its diverse members as they connect their communitieswith the global transportation system.James F. Brown, Jr., secretary of the Brazos River Harbor Navigation District,commented, “Pete should be honored to have his peers ask him to representthem and lead them as chairman of AAPA’s Gulf Caucus. It is obvious thatthe members of AAPA’s Gulf Caucus recognize Pete’s leadership qualities, aswe have seen for many years here at Port Freeport. I am proud of Pete andconfident that he will do a good job.”9 P O R T F R E E P O R T • BRAZOS RIVER HARBOR NAVIGATION DISTRICT P O R T F R E E P O R T • BRAZOS RIVER HARBOR NAVIGATION DISTRICT 10