Collection of Clean Truck Fee Will Be Delayed
Port leadership working diligently to resolve outstanding issues and prevent any negative economic and environmental impacts from the delay
SAN PEDRO, Calif. – Nov. 13, 2008 -- Collection of the Clean Truck Fee at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will not begin Monday, November 17, as previously scheduled. More time is needed to complete ongoing discussions between the ports, Federal Maritime Commission staff and West Coast marine terminal operators. Port leadership is working expeditiously to resolve the issues, since any delays prevent the acceleration of the clean truck program implementation and threaten the investment already made by many trucking companies.
“We are very concerned about the number of licensed motor carriers -- most of which are small, local companies -- that have already made significant capital investments in clean trucks that will help us reach our emissions objective sooner rather than later,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Geraldine Knatz, Ph.D. “Any delay in the fee collection process slows our progress on reducing emissions and places those companies at a competitive disadvantage in this already tough economic climate; so we are doing our best to expedite the implementation of the fee.”
Federal Maritime Commission staff and West Coast marine terminal operators are working to resolve remaining procedural issues. The terminals are also working to finalize the Program’s automated gate administration and fee collection process. The fee will be used to finance the replacement of thousands of polluting cargo trucks. The automated gate access system and fee collection system were originally scheduled to commence operation on November 17. With this delay, terminal operators will revert back to the temporary sticker system launched October 1 to determine which trucks to allow into port terminals.
Beginning October 1, 2008, the ports took the unprecedented step of banning the most polluting trucks, the 1988 and older vehicles – the initial ban in a series planned under the Clean Trucks Program. On January 1, 2010, the ports will ban 1993 and older trucks, and un-retrofitted model year 1994 to 2003 trucks. By January 2012, nearly the entire truck fleet serving the ports – all vehicles 2006 and older will be banned.
The West Coast Marine Terminal Operator Agreement (WCMTOA) created the not-for-profit company PortCheck to collect the Clean Truck Fee to provide financial assistance for the replacement of as many as 10,000 trucks during the next three years.
Under the ports' program, the cargo owner (the party named on the bill of lading) is responsible for paying the Clean Truck Fee. The fee will be payable by credit card or electronic funds transfer, and must be paid before a container can enter or leave the terminals.
Cargo owners can visit the PortCheck page at www.pierpass-tmf.org for updates. Cargo owners that are already registered in PierPASS offpeak terminal access system will automatically be uploaded into PortCheck. Cargo owners that are automatically uploaded from PierPASS into PortCheck will first have to accept the terms and conditions of PortCheck before their account will be extended into PortCheck.
The Port of Los Angeles, also known as “America’s Port,” has a strong commitment to developing innovative strategic and sustainable operations that benefit the economy and the quality of life for the region and the nation it serves. A recipient of numerous environmental awards, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2007 Clean Air Excellence Award, the Port of Los Angeles is committed to innovating cleaner, greener ways of doing business. As the leading seaport in North America in terms of shipping container volume and cargo value, the Port generates 919,000 regional jobs and $39.1 billion in annual wages and tax revenues. A proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles, the Port is self-supporting and does not receive taxpayer dollars. The Port of Los Angeles - A cleaner port. A brighter future.