Rumors Abound In Next Step of Trucking Dispute

Now that Long Beach has extracted itself from a federal lawsuit with the trucking industry opposed to certain provisions of the port's Clean Trucks Plan, supporters of the original plan are reportedly gearing up to introduce a bill in Congress giving local port authorities the ability to regulate aspects of trucking in and around the nation's harbors.

Sources say House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, is preparing legislation allowing large port cities like Los Angeles, New York, Newark, Oakland and others regulatory powers lost when Congress passed the Motor Carrier Act of 1980.

Pelosi's office could not be reached for comment early Tuesday.

On Monday, the City of Long Beach agreed in a closed-door meeting to remove certain provisions in their truck plan that had prompted a lawsuit by the American Trucking Associations, including regulations that companies doing business on their property not park on residential streets and submit to annual financial audits of their companies.

That move prompted the ATA to drop its lawsuit against the plan, leaving the Port of Los Angeles, which has an ever stricter plan, alone in its lawsuit against some of the nation's largest retailers, shippers and trucking companies, who joined in the lawsuit shortly after it was enacted in early 2008.

Supporters of the Los Angeles plan, who include local environmentalists, labor groups and even New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, were reportedly upset about the Long Beach deal, announced Monday evening.

In addition to the parking and auditing provisions, the Los Angeles plan also requires trucking companies purchase and maintain the trucks servicing their port - a move taking the burden of buying the expensive new rigs required under the plan off drivers and onto companies.

"They are giving a dirty bunch of industry bullies a free pass to port property if they claim 'Voila! We're Clean,'", said Long Beach resident Bernice Banares, a high school teacher living in what is referred locally to the "diesel death zone" by regional air quality regulators. "Instead of siding with with the industry polluters that sued him, Mayor Foster needs to be standing up for workers behind the wheel and mothers of children with asthma like me."

Long Beach officials, however, defended the deal, saying it saves potentially millions in legal fees while still achieving air quality goals. The plan calls for all trucks serving the harbor to meet federal 2007 emission standards by 2012 - a move expected to reduce diesel pollution from harbor trucks 80 percent.

"This is a critical milestone for the program, reaching consensus with an important industry partner," said Nick Sramek, president of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners. "With this settlement, the Port of Long Beach and the ATA have agreed to move forward, together, on a Clean Trucks Program that works to safeguard the environment while contributing to economic growth and jobs."

Meanwhile, a coalition of mostly progressive congress members, senators and allies like Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and New York Mayor Bloomberg are pushing for legislation which would effectively allow Los Angeles to require companies doing business on their property own and maintain trucks.

Pelosi has been named as a possible sponsor of such legislation, which has support from 31 House Democrats in California, California's Democratic Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and President Obama, who as a candidate wrote a letter supporting the new business model.