The Port of Los Angeles announced Thursday, Jan. 22, that it will begin collecting fees for its Clean Truck Program (CTP) on Feb. 18, simultaneously with the Port of Long Beach. The fee is expected to raise funds over the next few years at both San Pedro Bay ports to help finance the replacement of thousands of old higher-polluting trucks currently in drayage service.
The Port of Los Angeles CTP is part of a massive five-year Clean Air Action Plan to reduce port truck emissions at the San Pedro Bay ports by 80 percent and emissions from all sources by 45 percent. Collection of the Clean Trucks Fee was scheduled to begin in November, but was delayed twice due to extended Federal Maritime Commission review.
“It’s imperative that we start the program and continue the progress we have made to date in terms of banning pre-1989 trucks and accelerating the deployment of more than 2,200 2007-compliant trucks through our 2007-Compliant Incentive Program,” says Geraldine Knatz, Port of Los Angeles executive director.
Through that program, more than 100 of the Port of Los Angeles CTP concessionaires applied to receive $20,000 for each U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-compliant truck serving port cargo terminals, according to the port; more than 100 local Licensed Motor Carriers applied for the incentives in order to operate clean trucks and be exempt from the Clean Trucks Fee.
Beginning Oct. 1, 2008, the port banned the most polluting trucks — 1988 and older vehicles — the initial ban in a series planned under the CTP. On Jan. 1, 2010, the port will ban 1993 and older trucks, and unretrofitted model year 1994 to 2003 trucks. By January 2012, all vehicles 2006 and older will be banned.
The West Coast Marine Terminal Operator Agreement created the not-for-profit company PortCheck to collect the Clean Trucks Fee for the ports. The money collected will be transferred to the ports to provide financial assistance for the replacement of thousands of trucks during the next three years. Under the program, the cargo owner is responsible for paying the Clean Trucks Fee, which must be paid before a container can enter or leave a terminal.
In November, the ports filed with FMC their PortCheck agreement with marine terminal operators, who would develop and operate an online and electronic gate access system to collect the ports’ $35 per 20-foot-container-unit Clean Trucks Fee. After the PortCheck agreement was filed with FMC, the commission reclassified the agreement that should have taken effect upon filing, as subject to 45-day review, according to the ports.
