the environmental impact that port commerce has on nearby communities. The representatives suggested an amendment similar to that proposed by the clean-ports coalition.
Industry organizations have responded to these developments by writing letters to Congress and to the Port of Oakland saying they support a national goods movement policy that recognizes the infrastructure needs of West Coast ports, but they do not support amending the FAA law and restructuring of the harbor trucking industry.
The industry groups include the Waterfront Coalition, which represents retailers and shippers, the ATA, representing motor carriers, and the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, which represents ocean carriers and terminal operators.
The ATA said the clean-ports coalition’s support of the Oakland resolution is “ misleading the public in an attempt to pave the way for the Teamsters to take over Oakland’s waterfront drayage operations.”
And the ATA said calls for amending the FAA law to give ports the authority over certain aspects of harbor trucking are aimed at circumventing the court rulings involving the Los Angeles-Long Beach clean-trucks programs.
“If you can’t beat the law, change it,” said Curtis Whalen, executive director of the ATA’s intermodal conference.
The PMSA said Oakland’s resolution seeking an amendment to the FAA law could actually harm the Northern California port by distracting attention from the environmental benefits in the comprehensive truck plan. A shift to employee drivers would result in increased harbor trucking rates in Oakland and would create an uncertain business climate for proposed port development projects.
“The Port of Oakland should be doing all it can to attract and retain cargo — not drive it away through the specter of higher costs,” PMSA President John McLaurin said. JOC
HARBOR TRUCKING COMPANIES in Los Angeles and Long Beach should meet the Jan. 1, 2010, deadline for eliminating old, polluting trucks thanks to an aggressive subsidy effort sponsored by the ports.
The ports expect to disburse more than $70 million in subsidies from local, state and federal sources to help motor carriers purchase clean new trucks. The vehicles must comply with the emissions standards established by the federal Environmental Protection Agency for model year 2007 heavy-duty trucks.
Los Angeles and Long Beach on Jan. 1 will ban all pre-1994 trucks from the harbor, as well as any 1994-2003 model trucks that have not been retrofitted to meet 2007 emissions standards.
The harbor trucking community since last October has put into service about 5,000 clean-diesel and liquefied natural gas-powered trucks that meet or exceed the 2007-model standards. The majority of the trucks were funded with private-sector money.
Industry experts estimate the harbor trucking community in Los Angeles-Long
Beach requires 8,000 to 9,000 trucks to handle current cargo volume. Although the trucking industry, in partnership with cargo interests, has funded most truck purchases with private money, the ports expect subsidies to play an increasingly important role.
The ports are urging motor carriers to purchase more LNG trucks, which they believe are even cleaner than current model diesel trucks. But LNG trucks, priced as high as $200,000 each, cost about t wice as much as clean-diesel trucks.
The ports in mid-July announced they had reached agreement with the California Air Resources Board, the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the EPA to jointly fund a costly subsidy program that will help motor carriers purchase compliant trucks, including hundreds of LNG vehicles.
CARB is releasing $46.5 million in funds from a 2006 California voter initiative known as Proposition 1B. The ports together will contribute about $17 million and EPA is kicking in $7.5 million.
Motor carriers and owner-operators purchasing clean-diesel trucks will receive
$50,000 per vehicle from the Proposi-
tion 1B funds. Truckers buying LNG
trucks will qualify for an addi-
tional $50,000 from the ports,
the AQMD and the federal
government.
The AQMD will administer the
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