The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach last November adopted an ambitious Clean Air Action Plan.  This kind of action is much-needed in sooty Long Beach.  The plan is comprehensive, addressing the wide range of emission sources associated with the ports and goods movement.

However, I’m concerned about the potential for success in the very first major CAAP program to come out the gate:  the Clean Trucks Program.  The truck program has been controversial from the first moment of its release back in April.  It would fundamentally change the structure of the port trucking industry by requiring companies doing business with the ports to obtain a concession, meet certain environmental standards, and use only employee drivers within five years.  Currently, companies largely use truck owner-operators who drive as contractors.  Because rates for trucking services are so low, many of these drivers cannot afford to take all the steps needed to reduce emissions.  Indeed, the oldest, most polluting trucks are the cheapest as well, and contribute substantially to emissions from goods movement.  The Port program would subsidize the cost of new or upgraded trucks.

Trucking companies believe the program will disrupt the flow of goods by creating a shortage of drivers, and many smaller companies fear they will go out of business.  Many drivers, meanwhile, support the program as a way of gaining greater income, benefits, and employment stability.  Trucking associations are poised to sue if the program is adopted as proposed – which means that we in Long Beach and other port-affected cities will continue to wait for cleaner air.

The Ports delayed adoption of the program for two months (until September) while regional economist John Husing coordinated a detailed study of its likely economic impact.  Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, a key organizer of the environment-labor Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports, has released its own economic impact study.  I hope that these economic studies will not disagree, but will illuminate this complex issue.  I fervently hope that the Clean Trucks Program comes to the Boards of Harbor Commissioners in a form that will not provoke litigation, but rather proceed smoothly and quickly to mitigation of emissions so we can all breathe easier.