PortCheck to begin Clean Truck Fee collection Nov. 17

Beginning Nov. 17, no cargo will be allowed to enter or exit from a marine container terminal at the Ports of LA unless the cargo has been claimed. Under the ports’ program, the cargo owner (the party named on the bill of lading) is responsible for paying the Clean Truck Fee.

The Trucker News Services

11/7/2008

LONG BEACH, Calif. — PortCheck Inc., the not-for-profit company created by marine terminal operators at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach, announced said that it will start collecting the Clean Truck Fee (CTF) beginning Nov. 17. Enforcement of electronic gate access at the marine container terminals begins Nov. 10.

All cargo must be claimed before the CTF can be paid. Beginning Nov. 17, no cargo will be allowed to enter or exit from a marine container terminal unless the cargo has been claimed. Under the ports’ program, the cargo owner (the party named on the bill of lading) is responsible for paying the CTF.

Prior to the availability of the official PortCheck website, PortCheck urges cargo owners that are not registered with PierPASS to register on the PierPASS site at www.pierpass-tmf.org.

Cargo owners that are already registered in PierPASS will be uploaded automatically to PortCheck once they accept the terms and conditions.

PortCheck encourages cargo owners to visit www.pierpass-tmf.org to ensure they are registered, familiarize themselves with the website and navigation, and begin to claim cargo.

PortCheck will hold a webinar Nov. 12 at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time to explain how to use the website, claim cargo, pay the CTF and other important elements of the PortCheck program. The webinar can be accessed at here and will be archived there for future viewing.

Starting Nov. 10, licensed motor carriers will be required to have a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag installed on their trucks in order to enter the terminals. Only trucks that are registered in the drayage truck registry to a valid port concessionaire, that have paid their registration fees, and that are equipped with working RFID tags will be admitted to marine container terminals.

On Oct. 22, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach signed an agreement with PortCheck, contracting it to collect the fees and enforce a ban on trucks older than model year 1989.

PortCheck operates similarly to PierPASS Inc., which was established by terminal operators 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.

Information on the Clean Trucks Program is available at the ports’ web sites for Long Beach and Los Angeles. PortCheck makes available additional information about the CTF payment process at www.portcheck.org.

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.