In a strongly-worded press release sent out yesterday afternoon, the Coalition For Clean and Safe Ports yesterday denounced the recent settlement reached by the Pot of Long Beach and the American Trucking Association (ATA), criticizing Mayor Bob Foster for not joining a nationwide slew of mayors and other politicians who are holding strong against trucking companies. The issue centers around the Port’s settlement to replace their Concession Agreement – which placed strict environmental requirements on trucks operating in the Port – with a new Registration Agreement – which will allow trucking companies already operating under the Concession to simply sign and submit a registration form to continue working.
“The Port of Long Beach violated the public trust and sold out the citizens of Long Beach by approving a worthless settlement agreement with the American Trucking Association in their lawsuit against the Los Angeles ports’ clean trucks programs,” the release quotes David Pettit, a senior attorney of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
The Coalition For Clean and Safe Ports calls the new guidelines an “industry honor system,” but the Port maintains that will remain in a position to keep a close eye on trucks coming in and out of the harbor. That element is crucial to the Port’s plan to drastically reduce trucking emissions that are produced at the Port.
“The change will streamline our program,” Nick Sramek, president of the Board of Harbor Commissioners, said in a Monday press release. “At the same time, under the new registration system, the Port of Long Beach will have the tools to strictly monitor and enforce its Clean Trucks Program and the Program’s truck emission reductions. It will also be positioned to enforce fully all of its security and safety related regulations.”
The Coalition For Clean and Safe Ports ain’t buying it, though. Their release points to dozens of politicians and environmental groups who have backed plans similar to those at the Port of Los Angeles, which not only continues to fight the ATA to preserve its Concession Agreement, but also places responsibility for clean trucks on trucking companies and not drivers – many of whom cannot afford new trucks or costly renovations. Of course, that plan has been met with sharp criticism because it forces independent drivers to join trucking companies, and many drivers were not in favor of such a plan. The moral is that you can’t please everyone all the time.
The remaining question is, did the Port of Long Beach “cave” to the trucking industry (CCSP’s words) or have they preserved their ability to monitor and enforce strict environmental laws?
UPDATE: American Trucking Association spokesperson Clayton Boyce expressed his views in a phone conversation with the lbpost.com this morning, arguing that concerns from the CCSP and NRDC have little to do with environmental concerns and are lobbying on the behalf of truckers unions.
Boyce says that the Port of Long Beach relinquished no control over trucks that operate in the harbor, and that they will still be able to monitor and enforce environmental guidelines strictly. He says that unions take issue with the Port of Long Beach’s plan because they allow independent drivers to work, while the Port of Los Angeles forces drivers to join trucking companies. Boyce says this is a way for unions to increase membership and power, and the NRDC and CCSP are working for the unions’ interests rather than environmental concerns. Both groups, though, have strong reputations as environmental stewards. Still, Boyce argues that the Port of Long Beach didn’t “cave” to anyone.
“The trucks have to meet all the environmental regulations that trucks going to Los Angeles do,” Boyce said. “It’s not true what [NRDC attorney David] Pettit said and it’s not true that they’re avoiding any level of environmental regulations.”
The lawsuit recently settled between the Port of Long Beach and the ATA, Boyce said, was not about easing environmental guidelines or monitoring.
“There were several requirements in the [original] Concession Plan that were not necessary to clean up the Port,” he said. “The Port still has power to keep trucks out if they are unsafe, unclean or a security problem.”
He likened the unions’ desire to ban independent trucking owner-operators to a theoretical ban on freelance writers, or neighborhood grocery stores. He also pointed out that all this debate over the trucking industry is overshadowing a bigger problem: pollution from ships at the ports. A year ago, trucks accounted for approximately 12-15% of all port pollution, according to Port of Long Beach statistics. Today, Boyce says that number is down to 10% (Port of Long Beach numbers a few weeks ago indicated 10-12%). He says the ATA has never opposed the Clean Trucks Program, but also believes that greater attention should be paid to the shipping industry. The Port has made some clear strides in that regard, reducing speed limits as ships near the coast and installing some electrical power docks, but Boyce says that the only reason the trucking industry receives this level of attention and not the shipping industry is due to the power of truckers unions.
“There’s something really corrupt going on here,” he said.
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