Call for wider port truck regulation

Call for wider port truck regulation    Proponents of wider port trucking industry regulation applauded last week’s California district court ruling that upheld components of the Port of Los Angeles' Clean Truck Program.
   The decision, supporters say, could benefit efforts to regulate trucking in other ports.
   The decision, which the American Trucking Associations has said it will appeal, “bolsters the standing of burgeoning clean port programs across the nation,' said Melissa Lin Perrella, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Southern California Air Program.
   “Now we must pass my legislation, the Clean Ports Act, in order to bring federal law up to date with the current realities of our ports and the needs of U.S. truck drivers, and to ensure that future legal challenges do not impede environmental progress,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.
   Teamsters President James P. Hoffa said, “We plan to continue our work with federal lawmakers to clarify transportation law so ports nationwide don’t needlessly suffer expensive obstacles to cleaning up their operations. This can only be achieved if the financial responsibility for fleet replacement is shifted off the backs of low-wage workers and onto the broad shoulders of the industry where it belongs.”