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Clean Trucks Program * USA - Leaders urge Port of Oakland to reduce pollution
The Oakland Board of Port Commissioners set a goal this year of reducing the health risk from diesel particulates by 85 percent by 2020
Port of Oakland,Cal,USA -The Oakland Tribune, by Cecily Burt -22 July2008: -- ... The port has helped pay to replace 80 old trucks and it has set aside $5 million this fiscal year to help retrofit 1,000 rigs with new filters, said port spokesperson Marilyn Sandifur... But many independent truckers say they barely scrape by after paying for gas, insurance and expenses, and cannot afford a new truck or costly filter upgrades, even if the port and other agencies pay half the cost... The Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports, the Teamsters and California Labor Federation, is urging the Port of Oakland to follow the lead set by the Port of Los Angeles and adopt a Clean Trucks Program policy... Such a policy would dramatically reduce diesel emissions by requiring a concession agreement for all trucking firms serving the Port of Oakland to define environmental, community and labor standards. It also requires those trucking firms to hire drivers as employees, as was the case before the industry was deregulated in the early 1980s. Under the policy, the trucking firms would be responsible for owning and maintaining a clean fleet of trucks, not the drivers... Brian Beveridge, a West Oakland resident and co-director of the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project, said he supports the proposed policy but wants to make sure it includes a requirement for local hiring. He prefers a collection of small, local trucking companies rather than one or two huge conglomerates... The trucking industry has vowed to fight the policy at the Port of Los Angeles and another at the Port of Long Beach, which allows truckers to operate as independent contractors if they adhere to much stricter emissions standards...
Labels: Clean Trucks Program
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