The introduction of a new bill aimed at giving ports more authority to enact environmental regulations is expanding the battle over the Port of Los Angeles’ controversial employee-only clean trucks plan from the courts to Congress.

A Senate bill that supporters said would make it easier for federal regulators to catch employers who misclassify their employees as independent contractors also would help ensure a “level playing field in the marketplace,” a top official with the Department of Labor told a Senate panel.

Air pollution at the Port of Long Beach, Calif., declined in 2009 for the third consecutive year, and diesel particulate matter has fallen more than 50% since 2005, in part because of the port’s clean truck program, port officials said

A new Department of Transportation study hints that the Obama administration’s ambitious plans to increase heavy truck fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gases emissions will likely rely on a combination of existing aerodynamic design technologies and future diesel engine modifications that have barely left the laboratory or are still under development.

Two senators unveiled a long-awaited carbon emissions reductions bill Wednesday that could spur increases in the cost of diesel fuel for motor carriers.

Longhaul heavy tractor-trailers could achieve a fuel economy of more than 10 miles per gallon by 2030 — from today’s approximately 5 mpg to 6.5 mpg range — according to an analysis prepared for Congress by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

TUCSON, Ariz. — Brokers attending the 2010 Transportation Intermediaries Association convention and trade show here were warned to beware of financial services firms that allow them to skirt federal requirements that they post a $10,000 surety bond.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Trucking industry executives and drivers who testified at an hours-of-service “listening” session held by federal trucking regulators at the Mid-America Trucking Show here said the current rule does not give drivers the flexibility to take a nap when they become fatigued.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The head of Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems said he expects federal regulators to offer a proposal later this year mandating that heavy trucks be equipped with stability systems by as early as 2012.

A group including motor carriers, businesses, several members of Congress and a conservative public interest legal foundation has filed a lawsuit in federal appeals court challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s formal finding that greenhouse gas emissions are a danger to public health.