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Go-ahead comes as industry challenges to the plan fail in court

LONG BEACH, California – 09/23/08 – Despite a pair of legal challenges, the Clean Trucks Program (CTP) at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will reportedly go into effect on October 1.

As of that date, trucks manufactured in 1988 or before will not be allowed to access the both port’s terminal facilities in an effort to “reduce air pollution from the truck fleet by 80% by 2012.”

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach – the two busiest container ports in the US – will begin distributing window stickers this week to truck operators that will temporarily allow access for compliant trucks, identified through the port's concession agreements.

In a few weeks, both ports are planning to implement electronic systems to monitor compliance to the CTP.

Earlier this month, a US District Court judge rejected a legal challenge to the program brought by the American Trucking Association, which almost immediately filed an emergency brief with the US Ninth Circuit Court to reconsider an injunction against the CTP.

“As detailed in this emergency motion, ATA’s members will face immediate irreparable harm arising from forced changes to their business structure and unrecoverable loss of income if the order denying [the ATA’s lower court injunction request] is not reversed prior to Oct. 1,” according to the brief.

Under the Ninth Circuit Court’s schedule, the ATA was given until October 8 to submit its arguments, while the ports will be granted 28 days from the day of submission to respond.

The National Industrial Transportation League (NITL) joined the judicial fray “by filing a ‘friend of the court’ (amicus) brief in support of ATA's chief argument that the truck program is preempted by federal law.”

A few weeks ago, the West Coast Marine Terminal Operators Agreement (WCMTOA) petitioned both ports to postpone the program’s launch at least until December 1.

The group’s members questioned whether the complicated re-regulation plan can proceed as scheduled as “it requires 13 different terminal access control systems to be modified to accept and electronically understand the ports’ Drayage Truck Registry information.”

The group, said Bruce Wargo, WCMTOA secretary and PierPASS CEO, "believes that the effective implementation of the program would best be served by delaying implementation of MTO enforcement of truck access standards to November 1."

Requesting that the collection of the fees generated by the CTP be delayed until January 1, Wargo added that "attempting to implement a program of this type without adequate preparation, testing and outreach could result in long truck lines at terminal gates, decreased productivity, and dissatisfaction among truckers, ocean carriers, and the shipping public.”

According to a statement issued by the Port of Long Beach, all trucking companies doing business with the port “must have a port-approved concession,” an agreement that covers the rules that trucking companies must follow if they wish to do business with the port.

To date, nearly 500 companies operating more than 6,000 trucks had applied for concessions, representing more than 6,000 trucks.

In addition to adhering to the clean truck plan, effective October 1, all truck drivers hauling cargo in to and out of the ports will be required to have a government-issued Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) as part of their concession agreements or show evidence that they have applied for the TWIC.

The Port of Long Beach is currently developing a computerized PortCheck system – similar to the existing PierPass system – that will oversee the collection of Clean Trucks fees from cargo owners.

The fees generated by the program, both ports have said, will be used to create a fund to offer one-time financial assistance and other incentives to help affected truckers transition to new “environment-friendly” trucks.

Several media sources report that the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has requested additional information regarding implementation of the CTP including detailed information on the potential impact of the program on the national economy, the local workforce, and internal port security.

Though the FMC has said that it does not intend to delay implementation of the program, it remains unclear whether port officials can satisfy the FMC request and obtain appropriate approval during the final two weeks of this month.

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