Post by HardTimeTrucker on Oct 3, 2008 20:23:11 GMT -5
Truck Trend
10-02-08
LA Ports Inaugurate Tough Pollution Plan
SAN PEDRO -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster will announce a ban on trucks made before 1989 at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Wednesday.
The ban -- which is expected to affect about 2,000 trucks -- is part of the Clean Truck Program, which is intended to make a sizable dent in the pollution problem by 2012.
"Our Number 1 goal is to keep commerce flowing while we implement the Clean Truck Program and we are confident that we will meet this goal," said executive director of the Port of Los Angeles Geraldine Knatz.
A city ordinance signed earlier this year offers truck drivers $5,000 for turning in their pre-1989 trucks.
That same ordinance stipulates that trucking companies must hire drivers as employees, rather than keeping them as "independent contractors," by 2012. This change will force trucking companies to be accountable for maintaining cleaner burning trucks.
Officials with the Port of Los Angeles say the newer and "greener" trucks will decrease emissions by 80 percent over the next 5 years.
A $35 fee on cargo containers, approved by the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbor commissions last year, is expected to generate $1.6 billion to replace 16,800 trucks in the short-haul fleet.
10-02-08
LA Ports Inaugurate Tough Pollution Plan
SAN PEDRO -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster will announce a ban on trucks made before 1989 at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Wednesday.
The ban -- which is expected to affect about 2,000 trucks -- is part of the Clean Truck Program, which is intended to make a sizable dent in the pollution problem by 2012.
"Our Number 1 goal is to keep commerce flowing while we implement the Clean Truck Program and we are confident that we will meet this goal," said executive director of the Port of Los Angeles Geraldine Knatz.
A city ordinance signed earlier this year offers truck drivers $5,000 for turning in their pre-1989 trucks.
That same ordinance stipulates that trucking companies must hire drivers as employees, rather than keeping them as "independent contractors," by 2012. This change will force trucking companies to be accountable for maintaining cleaner burning trucks.
Officials with the Port of Los Angeles say the newer and "greener" trucks will decrease emissions by 80 percent over the next 5 years.
A $35 fee on cargo containers, approved by the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbor commissions last year, is expected to generate $1.6 billion to replace 16,800 trucks in the short-haul fleet.