Post by HardTimeTrucker on Mar 26, 2009 16:41:12 GMT -5
U.S. Ports Plan Clean-Truck Programs
Bill Mongelluzzo
The Journal of Commerce
Ports across the country are developing programs to cut pollution
From the Pacific Northwest to New York-New Jersey, ports across the U.S. are developing clean-truck programs, although they will attempt to avoid the litigation and fees associated with the Los Angeles-Long Beach program.
Many U.S. container ports are experiencing political pressure to reduce pollution from their operations, and trucks are the most visible sign of that pollution because they deliver cargo far from the waterfront.
However, in most port cities, dirty trucks do not account for nearly as high a percentage of total port-generated pollution as they do in Southern California, said Sarah Flagg, seaport air quality program manager at the Port of Seattle. She addressed the Faster Freight-Cleaner Air conference Tuesday in Long Beach.
Due to the unique geography and climatic conditions of Southern California and the large concentration of distribution centers that are located as far as 60 miles from the harbor, trucks account for 36 percent of all particulate matter pollution in Long Beach and 40 percent in Los Angeles.
By contrast, trucks account for 1 percent of total port PM emissions in Tacoma and 7 percent in Seattle, Flagg said. Those ports are heavily rail-dependent, and their intermodal transfer yards are located at or near the waterfront.
Trucks account for 7 percent of total port PM emissions in Oakland, 5.6 percent in Houston and 12 percent in New York-New Jersey.
The Los Angeles-Long Beach clean-truck programs have generated quite a bit of attention due to legal challenges to their concession requirements from the trucking industry and the Federal Maritime Commission.
Although they have generated much less interest and are being developed more slowly, clean-truck plans are alive and well at other ports. Most of those plans do not involve truck fees or subsidy programs to help motor carriers purchase new trucks, Flagg noted.
The general intention of clean-truck programs at other ports is to expedite the introduction of new 2007-model trucks that meet federal Environmental Protection Agency clean-air standards, or to encourage retrofitting of trucks to reduce pollution.
Seattle and Tacoma, for example, are developing clean-truck programs right now. The goal is for a large percentage of all harbor trucks to meet 2007-model emission standards by 2015, Flagg said.
Oakland will model its program after the California Air Resources Board Drayage Truck plan that calls for all trucks serving harbors and intermodal rail yards to be 2007-model or cleaner by the end of 2013.
The Port of Houston is developing a clean-air plan that will have a truck component, although no completion date has been designated, Flagg said. The Virginia Port Authority's plan is based on federal EPA's SmartWay program, she added.
New York-New Jersey has completed its drayage truck inventory and plans to roll out its clean-truck plan this summer. The plan will probably include provisions for low-interest loans to truckers and expanded use of intermodal rail, Flagg said.
Bill Mongelluzzo
The Journal of Commerce
Ports across the country are developing programs to cut pollution
From the Pacific Northwest to New York-New Jersey, ports across the U.S. are developing clean-truck programs, although they will attempt to avoid the litigation and fees associated with the Los Angeles-Long Beach program.
Many U.S. container ports are experiencing political pressure to reduce pollution from their operations, and trucks are the most visible sign of that pollution because they deliver cargo far from the waterfront.
However, in most port cities, dirty trucks do not account for nearly as high a percentage of total port-generated pollution as they do in Southern California, said Sarah Flagg, seaport air quality program manager at the Port of Seattle. She addressed the Faster Freight-Cleaner Air conference Tuesday in Long Beach.
Due to the unique geography and climatic conditions of Southern California and the large concentration of distribution centers that are located as far as 60 miles from the harbor, trucks account for 36 percent of all particulate matter pollution in Long Beach and 40 percent in Los Angeles.
By contrast, trucks account for 1 percent of total port PM emissions in Tacoma and 7 percent in Seattle, Flagg said. Those ports are heavily rail-dependent, and their intermodal transfer yards are located at or near the waterfront.
Trucks account for 7 percent of total port PM emissions in Oakland, 5.6 percent in Houston and 12 percent in New York-New Jersey.
The Los Angeles-Long Beach clean-truck programs have generated quite a bit of attention due to legal challenges to their concession requirements from the trucking industry and the Federal Maritime Commission.
Although they have generated much less interest and are being developed more slowly, clean-truck plans are alive and well at other ports. Most of those plans do not involve truck fees or subsidy programs to help motor carriers purchase new trucks, Flagg noted.
The general intention of clean-truck programs at other ports is to expedite the introduction of new 2007-model trucks that meet federal Environmental Protection Agency clean-air standards, or to encourage retrofitting of trucks to reduce pollution.
Seattle and Tacoma, for example, are developing clean-truck programs right now. The goal is for a large percentage of all harbor trucks to meet 2007-model emission standards by 2015, Flagg said.
Oakland will model its program after the California Air Resources Board Drayage Truck plan that calls for all trucks serving harbors and intermodal rail yards to be 2007-model or cleaner by the end of 2013.
The Port of Houston is developing a clean-air plan that will have a truck component, although no completion date has been designated, Flagg said. The Virginia Port Authority's plan is based on federal EPA's SmartWay program, she added.
New York-New Jersey has completed its drayage truck inventory and plans to roll out its clean-truck plan this summer. The plan will probably include provisions for low-interest loans to truckers and expanded use of intermodal rail, Flagg said.