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CLEAN TRUCKS PROGRAM * USA - Under way, and so is litigation
For the last month, trucks that entere d container terminal gates at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have had to prove they belong to a not-so-elite club
Los Angeles,CAL,USA -Pacific Shipper (Newark,NJ), by Stephanie Nall & Bill Mongelluzzo -November 3, 2008: -- ... Trucks allowed in to drop off or pick containers had to have stickers affixed to the windshield that proved they were operated by trucking companies holding a franchise with the port, and they had to prove the truck being operated was manufactured after Jan. 1, 1989... But implementation of the program hasn’t stopped legal questions and uncertainty, either. Legal battles are being waged on two fronts: at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco and at the Federal Maritime Commission in Washington. More combatants have entered the fray at both fronts as federal agencies, environmental groups and industry groups file comments at the FMC or friend-of-the-court briefs with the courts... While the filings are voluminous and involve multiple issues, the controversy is crystallized in two main arguments:
• The American Trucking Associations charges that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act prevents state or local regulation of motor carriers engaged in regulating interstate commerce. The ports insist they are exempt from that act because they operate on state-granted sovereign tidelands and because they are market participants attempting to protect their investments.
• The FMC has expressed concern that the concession requirements could improperly reduce competition and capacity, increase rates, and discriminate against some motor carriers. The National Association of Waterfront Employers has asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to order the court case sent to the FMC for action under the Shipping Act. The FMC could seek a court injunction against the concession requirements.
Round One of the court battle has already taken place. The ATA last summer asked a federal district court in Los Angeles to block the ports from implementing the concession requirements on Oct. 1. The court denied the trucking organization’s request for emergency action... The district court acknowledged that the ATA’s argument on federal pre-emption is sound... One new wrinkle in the filings: The Natural Resources Defense Council has warned the FMC that if it proceeds with the probe without first doing extensive environmental impact reviews, the agency will be in violation of federal laws. The NRDC promised litigation if the FMC continues...
* November launch for clean-trucks fee
Los Angeles,CAL,USA -Pacific Shipper (Newark,NJ), by Bill Mongelluzzo -November 3, 2008: -- Terminal operators at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will launch the clean-trucks program known as PortCheck “sometime in November,” according to the West Coast Marine Terminal Operator Agreement... PortCheck is the electronic system that will be used to process trucks as they enter marine terminals, and to charge cargo interests a clean-trucks fee of $35 per TEU. The revenue from the clean-trucks fee will be used to help truckers purchase new vehicles that comply with the ports’ strict new emission standards... Although the ports had set Nov. 1 as the target date for the launch of PortCheck and imposition of the clean-trucks fees, it is apparent that the system will not be completed by that date...
Labels: Clean Trucks Program
posted by Unknown @ 6:53 AM
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