Port Truckers Win Temporary Victory in Cleanup Program
Truckers hauling cargo in and out of the two ports in the Los Angeles area got a temporary reprieve from certain requirements under the Clean Trucks Program, although a fee increase for cargo owners remains in place.
On April 29, U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder in Los Angeles issued a preliminary injunction banning certain elements of the Clean Trucks Program until a trial takes place Dec. 15.
After hearing arguments from the American Trucking Associations, which opposes parts of the Clean Trucks Program, and the Port of Long Beach, the Port of Los Angeles and the Natural Resources Defense Council, which support all elements of the program, Snyder temporarily banned the following:
bull; The Port of Los Angeles’ requirement that all truckers calling at the docks be employed by trucking companies and not be independent owner-operators
bull; Restrictions on parking for trucks around the ports
bull; Requirements that trucking companies and truckers fill out forms detailing their finances
bull; Hiring preferences for drivers who had previously served the port
bull; Concession application fees
bull; The Port of Long Beach’s requirement that drivers be apprised of their health-insurance opportunities
But cargo owners, such as apparel importers, still must pay a $35-per-20-foot-container and $70-per-40-foot-container fee when collecting cargo at the ports.
“With Judge Snyder’s ruling, the central, most important elements of the Port of Long Beach’s Clean Trucks Program are intact,” said Richard Steinke, executive director of the Port of Long Beach. “We are still banning older trucks.”
Currently, all trucks that were manufactured before 1988 are banned at the ports. By 2012, trucks that don’t comply with 2007 emission standards will be prohibited from the ports in order to eliminate 80 percent of the diesel pollution coming from the thousands of vehicles that transport cargo in and out of the ports.
The Clean Trucks fee being collected will help support the $2 billion Clean Trucks Program, which hopes to finance the replacement of hundreds of old trucks with newer trucks. —Deborah Belgum
