PortCheck Inc. to manage Clean Trucks Program
PortCheck expects to begin collection of CTF payments when information system development is completed, which is anticipated to be sometime in November. Enforcement of the ban on trucks older than model year 1989 began on Oct. 1.
The Trucker News Services
10/28/2008
LONG BEACH, Calif. — The members of the West Coast Marine Terminal Operator Agreement (WCMTOA) today announced that they have been contracted by the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach to collect the Clean Truck Fee (CTF) required by the ports as part of their Clean Trucks Program. To comply with the requirement to collect the CTF, the terminal operators have established a new company called PortCheck Inc.
PortCheck will operate similarly to PierPASS Inc., which was established by WCMTOA in 2005 to create and operate the OffPeak program at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. PierPASS collects the Traffic Mitigation Fee that funds the five weekly OffPeak shifts on nights and Saturdays. OffPeak has been successful in diverting 40 percent of cargo from weekday shifts.
On Oct. 22, the two ports signed an agreement with PortCheck contracting it to collect the fees and enforce a ban on older trucks. PortCheck and the terminals are now working to build the information systems necessary to collect and track the fee payments while minimizing impacts to the flow of cargo. This system will fully automate the process of determining whether a truck meets the ports’ clean truck requirements and whether it will be charged a Clean Truck Fee.
PortCheck expects to begin collection of CTF payments when information system development is completed, which is anticipated to be sometime in November. Enforcement of the ban on trucks older than model year 1989 began on Oct. 1.
Under the ports’ program, the beneficial cargo owner (the party named on the bill of lading) is responsible for paying the CTF. Companies currently registered under PierPASS will automatically be registered under PortCheck, and the process of claiming containers and paying the CTF will be similar to the OffPeak program’s process. While the PortCheck website is being developed, PortCheck urges cargo owners to register on the PierPASS site (www.pierpass-tmf.org), and to familiarize themselves with the process.
The Clean Trucks Program is part of the Clean Air Action Plan of the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, which have the goal of reducing emissions of harmful pollutants by 45 percent by 2012. The Clean Trucks Fee is the charge in the ports’ tariff for cargo entering or leaving the port terminals via truck, and will be used to fund the purchase of new, clean trucks through the ports’ grant program.
PortCheck is a not-for-profit company established by members of the West Coast Marine Terminal Operator Agreement (WCMTOA) to collect the Clean Trucks Program tariff fees and enforce a ban on older trucks on behalf of the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach. More information will be available at www.portcheck.org.
The West Coast Marine Terminal Operator Agreement is filed with the Federal Maritime Commission. Members signatory to the agreement comprise the 13 marine terminal operators serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which together form the largest port complex in the United States and the seventh largest in the world. The marine terminal operators are private companies operating under lease agreements at the two ports, which are managed by the cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach.