This past week I had the opportunity to attend the three-day Faster Freight Cleaner Air conference in Los Angeles. (Past FFCA conferences have been held at the Long Beach Convention Center, and I look forward to their return to our city.)
One of the conference highlights was a lunchtime keynote address by Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster. As a result of his remarks, I got a better understanding of one key aspect of the Clean Truck Program adopted last week by the Port of Long Beach. At his request, the Harbor Commission’s action included one key aspect: it linked together the clean truck fee approved by both ports late last year, and the infrastructure fee approved in January.
I learned from the Mayor that the linkage means this: if any action should stall the implementation of the truck fee, the other fee also would be stalled. Why is this important? It means that if anything stops the environmental impact mitigation effort (i.e., cleaning up truck emissions) from going forward, then the collection of much-needed funds for infrastructure also would be delayed.
The private companies that comprise the shipping and logistics industry have agreed for some time that they can and should contribute to the cost of new infrastructure to move goods, on the understanding that these investments would speed the flow of freight. The question was how to get their contribution, and the Ports seem to be on the right track with their $15 per TEU infrastructure fee. (I say this because, well, so far, no lawsuit!) The linkage of the two fees means it is in the industry’s interest to see them both implemented.
In essence, the Mayor’s move makes good on a concept that the State of California articulated in its Goods Movement Action Plan, adopted January 2007: “simultaneous and continuous improvement” of both the environment and the goods movement infrastructure. This is the first action I know of, anywhere in the state, that makes this important and positive commitment a reality.