The Ports of Indiana have become the nation's first inland waterway system to secure a national designation that honors the adoption of environmental best practices.

The two Ohio River ports at Mount Vernon and Jeffersonville and the Lake Michigan port at Burns Harbor handled 14.8 million tons of cargo last year.

Indiana currently operates Ohio River ports in Jeffersonville and Mount Vernon and a Lake Michigan port at Burns Harbor.

While the numbers have been showing positive results over the past years, the focus is already on how to keep setting unprecedented numbers.

In part one of a three-part series, we visit Indiana's Lake Michigan port facility to see how it's secured its place in the global steel supply chain.

The state's three ports together handled 11.3 million tons of cargo last year.

The increase is due in part to grain and coal exports – the kind that could see major changes under Trump administration trade reforms.

A commercial real estate firm purchased Indiana Michigan Power's former coal plant in Lawrenceburg in southern Indiana and is working with the Ports of Indiana to see if it could be a viable option.

It was the first year in the Ports of Indiana's history that the state's three ports handled more than 12 million tons.