Court: PMSA may appeal Calif. air regulation

Court: PMSA may appeal Calif. air regulation    The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association the right to appeal a regulation by the California Air Resources Board that aims to cut emissions from ocean-going vessels arriving at California ports.
   PMSA, which represents the vast majority of steamship lines and terminal operators on the transpacific, is arguing that the emission standards should be developed on a national or regional basis, and not on a state basis, and that CARB doesn’t have the jurisdiction to regulate vessels engaged in global trade.
   'While the maritime industry accepts its responsibility to reduce air emissions and is working in earnest to reduce environmental impacts to the maximum extent possible at the earliest possible date, we continue to believe that this is a global issue that requires global and national solutions,' PMSA said in a statement praising the court's decision. 'In this instance, the California Air Resources Board was clearly projecting arbitrary state requirements on international trade, and we look forward to making this case before the Ninth Circuit.'
   PMSA said it is supporting the creation of a North America Emission Control Area that would layer the same regulations over all ports on the continent, thus avoiding the competitive disadvantages to California ports that the CARB regulation would create.
   'PMSA has taken a leading role in supporting the current U.S./Canadian initiative to set international emissions standards for ocean-going vessels through the creation of a North America Emission Control Area,' the association said. 'The U.S./Canadian proposal exceeds the emission standards and requirements that are at issue in the litigation and would achieve more meaningful air quality results.'