(June 26, 2008) The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners recently voted to approve the terms for truckers to join the unprecedented Clean Trucks Program, which is aimed at reducing trucking emissions by 80 percent by 2012 at the Port of Long Beach.

The port is aiming to begin signups for trucking companies in July. Under the Clean Trucks air quality improvement program, older bigrigs will be phased out of drayage service at the Port of Long Beach beginning with a ban on 1988 and older trucks starting on October 1, 2008. By January 1, 2012, all pre-2006 drayage trucks will be banned from the port.

The newly adopted concession agreement is the core of the Clean Trucks system, designed to ensure that trucking firms adhere to pollution-reducing requirements or risk losing their right to operate in the port. The concession agreement requires drayage trucking firms (licensed motor carriers) to:

• Register their trucks and drivers with the port;
• Ensure that drivers have federal Transportation Worker Identification Credentials (TWIC);
• Ensure that drivers adhere to local parking and travel restrictions; and
• Certify that the trucks they dispatch to terminals comply with Clean Trucks emissions guidelines.

Under the Port of Long Beach Clean Trucks Program, trucking companies are permitted to hire employees or contract with independent owner-operators. Licensed motor carriers are required to pay an application fee of $250 plus an annual fee of $100 per truck.

"With the concession terms in place, our goal is to start the signups for our concessions at the beginning of July and to begin signups for our grant program in mid-July," said port Executive Director Richard Steinke. "Truckers should get their TWIC cards now to be eligible. We need to move quickly to improve air quality while assuring that the transition to this landmark Clean Trucks Program allows trade to continue to move smoothly."

To speed the transition to new, clean trucks, a $35 per 20-foot container fee will be collected on all trucked cargo beginning October 1, 2008, to help pay for the $2 billion replacement of nearly 16,800 trucks that serve the ports. The port will be offering truckers grants and a leasing program to acquire new trucks.

For more information, visit the Port of Long Beach homepage at, www.polb.com.