Clean Air Action Plan Approved by Ports of LA, Long Beach
Photo: Port of Long Beach
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Photo: Port of Long Beach
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The Clean Air Action Plan, which seeks to aggressively reduce emissions at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, has been approved by the harbor commissions of both ports.
The 2017 CAAP Update is designed to push for zero emissions by 2035. The plan to reduce emissions will include cleaner vehicles and equipment, better freight infrastructure and planning, and improved freight efficiency.
For trucking companies servicing the ports, newly registered vehicles will be required to meet stringent environmental regulations or face penalties. By mid-2018, all new trucks on the registry must have at least 2014 model year engines. By 2020, a near-zero emissions standard will be enforced with a fee charged when entering port terminals. By 2023, trucks must meet near-zero emissions to enter the registry, and by 2035 only zero-emissions vehicles will be able to enter the port without being charged.
The ports estimate incremental costs of between $7 and $14 billion for new technologies, infrastructure investments, and incentive programs to support the CAAP strategies outlined in the latest version of the plan. The plan was developed with feedback from industry stakeholders in order to put forward goals that could be implemented successfully.
The Harbor Trucking Association, which represents many of the stakeholders at the affected ports, took a positive but circumspect position on the approved plan.
“The Harbor Trucking Association is very thankful to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for engaging with us in the development of the Clean Air Action Plan update,” said Weston LaBar, executive director of the association. “While we appreciate the ports’ approach, we feel the milestones are very ambitious and will be hard to meet.
The CAAP is one of the most ambitious environmental investments ever undertaken by a port complex and must strike a delicate balance of improving …Read the rest of this story
