Appeal of Long Beach-ATA deal rejected

Appeal of Long Beach-ATA deal rejected    Long Beach's city attorney has rejected an appeal of a settlement between the Port of Long Beach and the American Trucking Association over the port's clean air plan because the city has no jurisdiction over the matter, according to a report in the West Coast maritime news outlet Cunningham Report.
   City Attorney Robert Shannon wrote that because the settlement was agreed in a federal court, neither the city nor the state of California can entertain an appeal of the agreement. Additionally, Shannon said the appeal was not filed within the proper time period — 10 days of the decision.
   The settlement allowed the port to proceed with its clean air plan after the ATA challenged Long Beach's proposed concession requirements for carriers. Trucking companies will instead be required to register trucks into the port's drayage registry, with an radio frequency identification tag allowing the port to monitor entrances and exits from terminals.
   The ATA has similarly fought the Port of Los Angeles, successfully suing to stop the port from directly banning trucking companies for not replacing older trucks with ones that have cleaner burning diesel engines. Los Angeles is also requiring all truckers doing business at the port to be employee drivers rather than independent operators, a provision not included in Long Beach's plan.
   The appeal to the Long Beach City Council over the settlement was filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council.