|
ATA sues California ports
By Jill Dunn
Trucks enter a terminal at the Port of Los Angeles. (Photo courtesy Port of Los Angeles.)
|
The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach announced their Clean Trucks Program stays on schedule, despite an American Trucking Associations lawsuit against it.
The ATA filed a complaint July 28 for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The group charged that the Clean Trucks Program unlawfully re-regulates the industry by limiting port access to trucking companies in port-approved concession contracts.
“We have worked closely with the trucking and shipping industries to develop a workable program,” said Richard Steinke, Long Beach port executive director. “It is disappointing that the ATA is seeking to impede this critical air quality initiative. Despite this litigation, we are still moving full speed ahead toward our goal of reducing pollution from the truck fleet by 80 percent by 2012.”
Long Beach port attorneys will submit a formal response after reviewing the lawsuit, Steinke said.
The Port of Los Angeles said in a statement that it, too, would proceed with the program on schedule for health, safety and security reasons.
In the name of controlling pollution, the ports gradually are barring older trucks from their premises while providing financial incentives for concessionaires to buy newer ones and retrofit others.
In addition, the Los Angeles port will require all truckers on the premises to be employees, not independent contractors, of licensed motor carriers that hold concessionaire agreements with the port. Exceptions will be allowed for owner-operators not regularly doing business with the port.
The Long Beach port will be less strict, requiring owner-operators only to be leased to a concessionaire carrier. The port also plans exceptions, such as day passes, for owner-operators who are infrequent visitors.
Long Beach is encouraging trucking companies to sign up for the program despite the suit, so that “importers and exporters can be confident that sufficient trucks will be available to move their cargo during the peak shipping season this fall,” Steinke said.
The Port of Los Angeles likewise has posted its concession agreement and application and is offering workshops on the program.
The ATA argues that the ports’ actions violate a federal statute that prohibits states or political subdivisions from enacting or enforcing any legal requirement “related to a price, route, or service of any motor carrier.” The ports’ concessionaire agreements regulate truck maintenance, parking, employee wages and benefits, hiring practices, truck signage, recordkeeping, auditing, frequency of port service and sale or transfer of the motor carrier’s business.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court in Rowe v. New Hampshire Motor Transport sided with the ATA in a similarly argued case involving a state’s attempt to regulate aspects of cigarette hauling. No matter how well-intentioned, the court ruled, the government’s attempt infringed on the industry’s right to set its own services and prices.
The Port of Los Angeles addressed ATA's argument in its statement, which read in part: "The Clean Truck Program achieves the Port's and the City of Los Angeles' business objectives and is well within their rights as a landowner. The law has always recognized that a landowner can control the activities that occur on its property and, in fact, has an obligation to mitigate the impact of those activities. It is routine for municipalities, as landowners, to impose restrictions on those companies and individuals who come onto their property to do business."
The Port of Los Angeles statement continued: "The claim that the Clean Truck Program will restrict commerce is unfounded. Economists have concluded that the Port of L.A. plan will create substantial operational efficiencies for both the Port and trucking companies, who will be able to use the same trucks over multiple shifts, optimize truck loads and decrease wait times."
The ATA said it had no beef with the ports' pollution-fighting efforts. “Despite the additional costs that our industry will incur, we strongly support the ports’ efforts to reduce truck emissions, and our lawsuit does not challenge any aspect of those efforts,” said Bill Graves, ATA president and chief executive officer.
The Coalition for Clean Air, the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council said they would request court permission to intervene on behalf of the ports. Unions such as the Teamsters, its membership largely composed of company drivers, also have backed the Clean Trucks Program.
The Los Angeles port plan also was approved by the City Council. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat and former labor organizer, issued a response to the lawsuit that said, in part: “When thousands of lives are cut short every year by toxic emissions from the port, we have a moral mandate to act.”
|
|
