Reports surfaced yesterday indicating that the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles have combined to spend nearly $10 million to defend their joint Clean Air Action Plan since 2007, according to the Cunningham Report. Two lawsuits – one of which has been very lengthy – forced the Ports to enter into court battles to protect the Plan, which was created with help from South Coast Air Quality Management District, California Air Resources Board and Environmental Protection Agency.
The Port of Long Beach has spent $2.2 million with one law firm alone, and also joined with the Port of Los Angeles to share the cost of a $7.5 million contract with another firm. As the Cunningham Report explains it:
Originally signed in January 2007, the Kaye Scholer contract was capped at $500,000. In less than three years, the budget shot up due to legal challenges from the American Trucking Association and the Federal Maritime Commission. Currently, only the ATA case is unresolved.
Estimates are that both ports will spend much more in the future to defend the act, which bans the use of older, less efficient truck models in an effort to improve air quality caused by heavy truck transport in the region. It also aims to reduce pollution caused by normal port operations, and calls for all cargo ship docks to be outfitted with electrical capabilities, such as the one in this article (click here).