Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to ban old diesel trucks

6 November 2007

Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, have adopted a new tariff that will progressively ban all pre-2007 trucks from operation at the ports. Old diesel trucks will be banned or will require retrofits with emission controls according to the following five-year Clean Trucks Program schedule:

• Ban pre-1989 trucks from port service by October 1, 2008
• Ban 1989-1993 trucks from port service by January 1, 2010
• Ban unretrofitted 1994-2003 trucks from port service by January 1, 2010
• Ban pre-2007 trucks from port service by January 1, 2012

Under the tariff, trucks will only be granted access to port terminals if they are registered with the ports and have a radio frequency identification device (RFID) tag that will provide information about each truck to the ports. Port marine terminal operators will be required to equip their terminals with RFID tag readers to manage access of drayage trucks and ensure that they are compliant with the emissions standards.

The adopted tariff would not apply to “Dedicated Use Vehicles” defined as on-road vehicles that do not have separate tractors and trailers, including auto transports, fuel delivery vehicles, concrete mixers, mobile cranes and construction equipment. The tariff must be still approved by Los Angeles and Long Beach city councils.

The ports are serviced by a fleet of 16,500 trucks. It remains unclear who will pay for the cost of replacing the entire truck fleet, which can amount to as much as $1.6 billion. A large part of the fleet is operated by low-income independent contract operators who cannot afford to purchase new vehicles. An estimated 3,000 trucks which were built before 1989 are to be banned from October 2008.

The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach—collectively the busiest port complex in the United States—are responsible for 25% of diesel PM emissions in the Los Angeles Basin.

Source: Port of Los Angeles (press release, tariff) | LA Times