Circuit sets date for SoCal truck plan arguments

Circuit sets date for SoCal truck plan arguments A U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel will hear oral arguments March 4 in an American Trucking Associations case to block portions of the Southern California ports' multibillion-dollar trucking re-regulation program.
   The ATA is requesting that the appellate panel overturn a lower court denial in September 2008 of a preliminary injunction against portions of the truck program, jointly developed by the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.
   The truck program, portions of which began on Oct. 1, 2008, seeks to replace more than 19,000 older model trucks providing drayage service to the ports' marine terminals. Using loans and grants to trucking firms, the truck program hopes to upgrade the entire drayage fleet to less emissive 2007 or newer model year trucks within five years. The program also implemented a concession system that required trucking firms to obtain an access license from the port after agreeing to ports-defined criteria.

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   The ATA has argued in both the lower court and to the Ninth Circuit that the concession system violates federal interstate commerce laws.
   In September, the lower District Court, while finding in favor of the ATA on many counts of the injunction request, denied the injunction based primarily on a security exemption to federal preemption cited by the ports. In a similar request to the Ninth Circuit, the appellate panel denied an ATA request for an emergency injunction against portions of the truck program and determined that it would not expedite a full hearing on the lower court ruling.
   The U.S. Justice Department and several industry trade groups have joined the case in support of the ATA position. On the other side of the case, the National Resources Defense Council and several other environmental groups been permitted to join in support of the ports. ' Keith Higginbotham