With a ceremonial blast of truck horns, Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster and leaders of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles officially dedicated the Clean Trucks Center on Terminal Island on August 22. In a series of speeches, officials discussed how the center is helping replace dirty trucks with cleaner models as part of a program to reduce air pollution from the truck fleet by 80 percent by 2012.
The event was part of "Clean Trucks Center Week," an outreach event that welcomed truck drivers, truck owners and other stakeholders to view the clean truck models soon to be hauling containers through the ports as part of the Clean Trucks Program. The Center, at New Dock Street and Pier S Avenue, was created to be a "one-stop-shop" to assist truck owners who need to comply with the ports' new emission reduction requirements.
Mayor Foster, Long Beach Harbor Commission President James C. Hankla, Los Angeles Harbor Commission President S. David Freeman and California Air Resources Board Executive Officer James Goldstein spoke at the dedication. Foster and port officials climbed in new, clean-diesel or alternative fueled big-rigs and simultaneously blasted their horns to officially dedicate the Center.
The CTC is a complex of temporary offices where licensed motor carriers and independent owner operators can apply for grants and leases for new trucks, register for their Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC), apply for financial assistance, and learn about the many new services that the ports have created for the drayage industry, such as the Port of Long Beach's "Healthy Drivers" health insurance program.
Read more: Visit the Clean Trucks web portal http://www.polb.com/cleantrucks for more information or to download a concession application. By phone: Truck owners and licensed motor carriers can call the Clean Trucks Center for information at 1-888-KLN-TRUX (1-888-556-8789).
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In cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other regulatory agencies, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are expanding their water quality programs with the development of a coordinated Water Resources Action Plan (WRAP), a comprehensive effort to target remaining water and sediment pollution sources in the San Pedro Bay.
Stakeholders are invited to play a role in the development of the WRAP. A public meeting will kick off the Water Resources Action Plan on September 17 at 1 p.m. in the Board of Harbor Commissioners Hearing Room, Port of Los Angeles, 425 S. Palos Verdes St. in San Pedro.
While water quality at the two ports has improved dramatically in the decades since the passage in 1972 of the U.S. Clean Water Act, the ports have determined that better regional coordination will build upon existing programs and further improve water quality. The development of the Water Resources Action Plan will bring together multiple stakeholders to systematically identify sources and types of residual water and sediment pollution, and coordinate effective cleanup strategies.
Read more: Click here for a news release on the clean water plan.
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Containerized trade at the Port of Long Beach dropped by 12.9 percent in July, as a decline in imports was offset somewhat by an increase in exports. Imported containers decreased by 18.1 percent for the month, while exported goods were up 13.5 percent from the same month a year ago.
Port terminals moved a total of 563,703 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) in July, compared to 647,428 TEUs in July 2007. Imported containers decreased to 272,350 TEUs while export containers increased to 153,364 TEUs. The movement of empty containers, most of which are sent overseas to be refilled with products, decreased by 23.3 percent to 137,989 TEUs.
The Port has seen double-digit growth in export container movement for 14 straight months, with nine months near or above 30 percent. Because more containers are heading overseas filled with exports, the number of empty containers moving across Port terminals is declining.
So far in 2008, containerized trade is down 9.4 percent when compared to the same time period in 2007.
Read more: Click here for the August 2008 TEU figures, and here for the latest tonnage summary report.
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The House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation met at the Port of Long Beach August 3 to examine efforts to meet infrastructure needs, and to consider Port programs to reduce emissions.
Watch it: To watch a video of the hearing, click here.
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The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles have filed their opposition in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in response to the preliminary injunction motion from the American Trucking Associations (ATA) that seeks to stop the ports' Clean Trucks Program concession requirement.
Read more: Click here for a news release on the filing and here to view the ports' brief and declarations.
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• Clean Trucks Center
• Clean Water Plan
• July Container Trade
• House Committee Meeting
• CTP Defense Filed