Truckers Go to Court to Block Parts of Ports' Clean Trucks Program
A battle brewing over who can drive trucks in and out of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach came to a head when a major national trucking association filed a federal lawsuit to block portions of the ports’ Clean Trucks Program, which begins Oct. 1.
The American Trucking Associations in Arlington, Va., a conglomeration of state trucking associations, filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on July 28. It seeks to stop the ports’ concession plan, which requires truckers to register with the ports in order to pick up and drop off cargo containers and to drive cleaner trucks. The Port of Los Angeles’ program eventually will allow only truckers employed by trucking companies to haul cargo using newer, cleaner trucks to be purchased through the Clean Trucks Program.
The ATA, which is seeking a preliminary injunction and then a hearing into the matter, maintains that the concession plan imposes a broad range of operational requirements that create a regulatory environment that would reduce competition and result in fewer but larger trucking companies.
The Clean Trucks Program has been widely applauded by politicians, city officials, nearby residents and longshore workers for reducing pollution at the busiest port complex in the country. The goal is to reduce diesel truck emissions by 80 percent by 2012 by allowing only cleaner and newer trucks into the ports. Starting Oct. 1, any trucks built before 1988 will not be allowed to pick up cargo.
Currently, about 80 percent of the 16,000 truckers serving the ports are independent drivers, who operate much like contractors or free-lancers. They are not full-time employees of any trucking companies.
“Our lawsuit is designed to block them [the ports] from using the concession plan,” said Curtis Whalen, an ATA executive. “We are not trying to block the clean-ports program or get in the way of the funding mechanism the ports have set up.”
To fund the $1.8 billion Clean Trucks Program, which will gradually help trucking companies buy newer and cleaner trucks, an additional $35-per-20-foot container fee will be implemented at both ports on Oct. 1.
“We are particularly concerned with the Port of Los Angeles’ concession requirement that will lead to a complete ban of the use of independent contractor/owner operator drivers in servicing that port’s operations within five years. That requirement, which has nothing to do with the clean-air goals of the ports’ Clean Trucks Program, threatens a well-established trucking-industry operational practice that provides efficiencies and the flexibility needed for the trucking industry to effectively serve our customers,” said ATA President and Chief Executive Bill Graves in a statement.
Despite the federal lawsuit, the Port of Long Beach said it was committed to going forward with its Clean Trucks Program, which does allow independent truck drivers to pick up cargo as long as they are registered with the port. Richard Steinke, executive director of the Port of Long Beach, said port attorneys were reviewing the lawsuit to submit a formal response.
The Port of Los Angeles said it would move forward with its plan. “We strongly believe that our plan is lawful, and we will vigorously oppose any action that will delay cleaning up the air so that Angelenos can begin to breathe easier,” the port said in a statement. —Deborah Belgum
