The environmental brainchild of the Port of Long Beach, the Clean Trucks Program, becomes officially activated today. Shipping trucks produced in the model year 1988 or earlier will not be allowed access to Port terminals, in a massive effort to improve air quality polluted with decades of harmful truck emissions.
Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster made an appearance at the Clean Trucks Center yesterday to administer official badges to trucks that meet the new qualifications. Trucks that meet the newly implemented standards receive a bright orange “Temporary Permit” that allows them access to the Port.
Today marks the end of a long road that has led the Clean Trucks Program to court and back, challenged by independent truckers and questioned by some environmental groups searching for more strict requirements. A U.S. District Court Judge finally refused to halt the program on September 10, setting the stage for today’s debut.
Yesterday, Foster was all smiles as he took a turn behind the wheels of two new-age trucks—freshly Armor-All’d and refreshingly more aerodynamic than the average fridge-shaped truck. It took him a little work with the gears—all ten of them—but the Mayor would let nothing stop his desire to operate heavy machinery, and soon he and trucker Mario Marquez were off for a spin.
Marquez’s is an interesting story. The trucker owns his own vehicle and would love to upgrade to the very machine that Foster chauferred him around in. But Marquez’s truck was made in 1989, so he’ll have to wait a year until emissions standards are more strict and he’ll qualify for special financing.
“[The newer truck] is a total difference from mine,” said Marquez, after riding with Foster. “It’s a very nice ride. Compared to my truck, this is like driving a new Cadillac.”
He’s currently having his truck’s motor examined to determine if it was made pre-1988, which would deny his truck access to the Port and qualify him for special financing on a new truck.
Fingers crossed for you, Mario. His eyes are on a truck called the Freightliner Columbia, and with special grants Mario would pay $26,310 on the $93,310 truck. The other truck on display was a $161,135 Sterling LT8500 ISL-G, which will costs interested buyers $56,135 after grants.
One original concern with the Clean Trucks Program was that too many trucks would be denied entry, causing a shortage and slowing shipping. The Port reports (unfortunate rhyme) that there will be no such shortage, with 750 Licensed Motor Carriers (LMCs, or trucking companies) representing 15,000 trucks that have registered in the new program. That’s a lot of trucks, but under the plan, the emissions produced will be severely slashed. By the year 2012, the Port estimates that air pollution will have been cut by nearly 80-percent. This will be accomplished by increasingly stringent emission standards.
Under the plan, pre-1989 trucks are officially banned today. On January 1, 2010, pre-1993 trucks will be banned—along with trucks up to 2004 that have not been retrofitted meet necessary standards. Finally, on January 1, 2012, all trucks that don’t meet 2007 emission standards will be banned.
It’s a strict plan that forces trucking companies and independent drivers to keep up with a break-neck pace, but one that will finally help to quell some of the worst air pollution in the nation. Happy Clean Trucks Day.
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor
