Port Trucking Rules Take Effect in L.A., Long Beach
Authorities at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., are beginning enforcement Wednesday of new regulations banning pre-1989 model trucks from operating at the ports, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reported.
Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster called it a “landmark day” to help reduce diesel emissions in the region, the paper said.
The move is expected to cut diesel pollution from trucks at the ports by 30% and remove up to 1,500 rigs, about 10% from the total fleet serving the port, the Press-Telegram reported.
Despite the new rules, port authorities do not expect service disruptions, and several hundred new trucks have been added into service to replace the older trucks, the paper said.
Imports, which account for about 80% of the total cargo handled in Long Beach and Los Angeles — the largest U.S. port complex — have fallen about 9% this year, the paper said.
An appeals court late last month dismissed American Trucking Associations’ call for an injunction barring the new rules.
The rules progress continues incrementally through Jan. 1, 2012, when only trucks meeting 2007 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emissions standards will be allowed access to the two ports.
