Pot shots continue to fly over port programs

“The settlement agreement between the ATA and Long Beach did not make any change that would reduce, let alone reverse, the Port’s progress in cleaning the air. What is cleaning the air is the progressive banning of older trucks," ATA said.

The Trucker Staff

1/5/2010

Pot shots over port programs continue to fly, with the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club alleging in a lawsuit that the American Trucking Associations and the Long Beach Harbor Commission are reversing air clean-up efforts in a “backroom agreement” and the ATA crying foul and saying the claims are “baseless and inaccurate.”

On the contrary, an ATA news release responded, “The settlement agreement between the ATA and Long Beach did not make any change that would reduce, let alone reverse, the Port’s progress in cleaning the air. What is cleaning the air is the progressive banning of older trucks.

“The settlement agreement with the ATA gives the Port of Long Beach everything it needs, and everything it wanted, to continue banning older trucks.”

In announcing the lawsuit last week David Pettit, director of NRDC’s Southern California’s clean air program, said “This deal puts the wolf in charge of the henhouse, with a likely result of dirtier air for local communities. Industry cannot be allowed to dictate clean air efforts and roll back the port’s clean air advancements.”

In response to an ATA lawsuit, the U.S. District Court of Appeals ruled that the Long Beach Port concession plan to do away with owner-operators at the ports was illegal.

ATA has continued to state that doing away with the port’s concession plan has not stopped the port from going forward with its clean air plan.

“The real story is this,” wrote ATA in a news release. “The Port of Long Beach has significantly reduced air pollution” and has received “its best air quality report card since emissions studies began in 2002, a Port spokesman said.”

ATA further stated that the NRDC and Sierra Club want to force the Port of Long Beach and other ports in the nation “to ban independent owner-operators in order to make all port drivers company employees who can be organized by the Teamsters.”

NRDC in its release said, “The new agreement gives the ATA authority to oversee future updates to the clean trucks program at the Port of Long Beach, even if the Port is acting to protect public health and safety.”

Dorothy Cox of The Trucker staff may be reached to comment at dlcox@thetrucker.com.