In November, the ports approved a clean trucks regulation that will ban old, dirty drayage trucks from the ports. Only trucks that run on natural gas or other clean fuels and meet new truck emission standards will be allowed to operate in and out of the ports. This is critical since about 25 percent of the diesel emissions in the Los Angeles basin originate from the ports. To accelerate the replacement or retrofit of the 16,800 dirty trucks, this week both ports approved a cargo fee of $35 for each of the millions of 20-foot container units that enter or exit the ports by trucks. This fee will be paid by the cargo owners, and the monies collected (expected to be $1.6 billion over five years) will be used exclusively for replacement or retrofit of drayage trucks that serve the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

“This is an innovative and far-reaching program,” said Richard Kolodziej, president of NGVAmerica. “Every major port in the country faces the same diesel pollution problems. Only the ports of LA and Long Beach are taking such a dramatic step to solve them. Importantly, it’s expected that thousands of the replacement trucks won’t operate on diesel fuel at all. They’ll run on natural gas. These are the cleanest trucks available. They’ll also help reduce greenhouse gases and our dependence on foreign oil. The ports’ executives should be commended for their leadership and vision.”

NGVAmerica is a national organization dedicated to the development of a growing, sustainable and profitable market for vehicles powered by natural gas or hydrogen. NGVAmerica represents more than 120 companies interested in the promotion and use of natural gas and hydrogen as transportation fuels, including: engine, vehicle and equipment manufacturers; fleet operators and service providers; natural gas companies; and environmental groups and government organizations. For more information about NGVAmerica, visit our website at www.ngvamerica.org