Just a week after environmental groups threatened to file a lawsuit against the Mayor of Long Beach, as well as Harbor Commission and Port officials over air quality concerns, city officials are starting to get a move on initiatives to clean up the atmosphere. Trucks that barrel down the highway spewing black clouds of filth into the air might be forced to cut off their diesel engines.
And Port officials don't want to let it linger any longer.
The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners will vote on Tuesday Feb. 19 on the final elements of a landmark Clean Trucks Program that will modernize the port trucking fleet and slash truck-related air pollution by 80 percent within four years, according to the Port of Long Beach press release>www.polb.com/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=342&TargetID=1,17,7.
The new staff proposal would make sure only concession trucks would be allowed on the road. The concession trucks would cut air pollution and ensure safety.
But according to a FOX 11 news report, the condition would allow some trucks with diesel to remain on the road as long as they pass smog checks.
In December of 2007, the commission approved a $1.6 billion tax on cargo to raise funds for the efforts known as the "special cargo fees."
Within the next few years, the port will hope to approve a ban on pre-1989 deisel trucks.
The fee will end when the fleet of drayage trucks meets Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP) requirements in about 2012.
The Harbor Commission will meet at 1 p.m. Tuesday, February 19, at the Port Administration Building, 925 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach. To view a Fact Sheet, the board documents and the live webcast, go to the Port’s web site at www.polb.com.
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