‘Clean Ports Act’ introduced; could have impact on trucking beyond ports
The Clean Ports Act of 2010 would "amend the Federal Motor Carrier Act to allow ports to enact and enforce clean truck programs. ..."
By DOROTHY COX
The Trucker Staff
7/30/2010
WASHINGTON — Congressman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., the senior Northeastern Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, introduced the Clean Ports Act of 2010 on Thursday, according to a statement on his website.
The bill, which has 57 original co-sponsors, would amend the Federal Motor Carrier Act to allow ports to enact and enforce clean truck programs and implement environmental programs “above the current federal requirements.”
“This change to federal law would confirm that port cities like Los Angeles, New York, Newark, Oakland and Seattle have the authority to set the standards needed to replace diesel trucks with clean diesel and alternative energy vehicles in order to reduce pollution in a manner that has negligible effect on consumer prices, lowers public health costs for taxpayers, and does not unfairly burden the workers who haul cargo to and from U.S. seaports,” the statement said.
“With trucking a ubiquitous and central part of goods distribution nationwide, we must ensure that the government is doing everything in its power to decrease vehicle emissions and minimize pollution in and around our ports,” said Nadler. “The Clean Ports Act will update federal environmental law to allow forward-thinking ports, like the Port of Los Angeles, to implement clean truck programs that will improve the air, empower truckers, and reduce the incidence of illnesses exacerbated by pollution. The movement supporting this legislation represents a truly diverse swathe of American labor, business, environmental organizations, consumer groups, and others working toward the common goal of greener ports.”
Comments during a meeting May 5 by the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on Highways and Transit intimated that such legislation or something similar might be forthcoming.
Capt. John Holmes, deputy executive director, operations, at the Port of L.A. said at the May 5 hearing that his port wants to do away with all independent owner-operators at its facilities because most of the port haulers are notoriously underpaid and even with heavy subsidies from ports, governmental and other entities, the drivers can’t afford new, cleaner trucks. He said having only carrier employees will assure that all the older, more polluting trucks will be replaced with newer, clean-emissions trucks.
“So to clean up the port, we realized we had to create a new system that would provide the port with responsible trucking companies that had the means to maintain trucks regularly and reliably control drivers,” he said in written testimony.
The American Trucking Associations has said while it supports cleaner air at the ports, it opposes doing away with owner-operators at the Port of L.A., arguing it has nothing to do with clean trucks and clean air.
ATA’s Vice President and Chief Counsel Robert Digges Jr., said May 5 that the Port of Long Beach didn’t include a ban on owner-operators but instead came up with a registration agreement using both company drivers and independent owner-operators and that its clean truck initiative was not harmed in any way but is rather a resounding success. Digges emphasized that “What we are opposing is the use of a concession contract wherein the port grants to itself the sole discretion of selecting which otherwise federally qualified motor carriers can participate in port transportation services.”
ATA filed suit in 2008 against the Ports of L.A. and Long Beach challenging their use of mandatory concession contracts to implement their clean trucks programs and last year the lobbying group reached a settlement with the Port of Long Beach in which that port replaced its concession contract with a new motor carrier registration process. It received a temporary injunction from the court against the L.A. Port’s concession to ban owner-operators.
According to Nadler, the court challenge has “highlighted the need” to “amend federal law.”
“The current motor carrier statute enacted as part of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA) of 1994 allows state and local entities to regulate trucking companies only for ‘safety’ related programs, and an injunction has been issued to temporarily block Los Angeles’ ability to directly enforce, through concession agreements, a ban on motor carriers from bringing dirty trucks into its port. The court injunction also prevents Los Angeles from placing the burden of cost to upgrade and properly maintain expensive, new clean trucks onto motor carrier companies rather than onto truck drivers themselves. Because of the injunction, drivers continue to be hired as ‘contractors’ by the companies and, therefore, are expected to replace and maintain trucks themselves – a prohibitive and unreasonable expense for the vast majority of drivers, which threatens the efficacy of the entire clean truck program.”
Nadler continued that ports in New York, New Jersey, Oakland, Seattle, Houston and Miami “are grappling with similar obstacles presented by port trucking, but are unable to implement a comprehensive program given the legal uncertainty and injunction against the program in Los Angeles.”
A source who is a former Teamster and port hauler told The Trucker that such measures would eventually be used to see that unions take charge of major distribution centers.
“It’s not just about local drayage trucks,” said the source, who wanted to remain anonymous; “this would affect every truck coming into the ports, all cross-dock operations” and “unionize distribution centers.”
Nadler said his bill is supported “by a broad coalition of over 120 civic, environmental, labor and civil rights groups, such as the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Change to Win, Blue Green Alliance, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Sierra Club, Apollo Alliance and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council).”
Dorothy Cox of The Trucker staff may be contacted to comment at dlcox@thetrucker.com.