Americas News
Audit: Port of Seattle Clean Air Subsidy Illegal
A state audit has found that a program that pays ships to use low-sulfur fuel while they are docked at the U.S. West Coast Port of Seattle is illegal, local radio station KUOW reports.
Washington state auditor Brian Sonntag said fuel subsidies totaling $2.2 million paid over the past three years constitute illegal gifts of public money.
"There's a prohibition against any public agency gifting, or giving away, the public's money," said Sonntag.
"You can't do that. State law's very clear."
The Port says the program has reduced soot emissions by ocean-going ships in Seattle by a third, but Sonntag said there is no exemption to the gifting rules even if they provide a public benefit like clean air.
"It absolutely doesn't matter what the reason is," he said.
Port officials said they do not believe the program is illegal but they will work with the auditor's office to change the program.
Other locations worldwide, including Gothenburg, Sweden and Hong Kong, offer incentives for ships to use less polluting fuels in their ports.
