Port of NY/NJ ban on older trucks begins next week

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) anti-pollution measure, which will bar trucks with engines built before 1995, is expected to effectively banish about 200 trucks out of the 9,000 that currently serve the port.    Beginning Jan. 1, drayage trucks with engines that were built prior to 1995 will be banned from entering the Port of New York and New Jersey.
   The anti-pollution measure by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) is expected to effectively banish about 200 trucks from the port, a small portion of the about 9,000 trucks that are active in hauling goods to and from container terminals.
   The port authority also has established as a goal that all trucks serving its marine terminals be equipped with 2007 or newer engines, and has worked with financial institutions in recent years to provide low-interest loans to truckers for the replacement of trucks with model year 1996 to 2006 engines that currently serve the port.
   The Truck Replacement Program provides a grant of up to $25,000 to drivers replacing trucks with 1994 or 1995 engines with one that has an engine that was built in 2007 or later. The program resulted in the removal of 183 trucks from the road last year, according to PANYNJ data, which is more than three times the number removed in 2015.
   Since the replacement program began in 2010, the port authority has helped replaced over 600 older, polluting trucks, according to port statistics, including 429 between 2010 and 2015. It also resulted in an estimated emission reduction of 157 tons of fine particulate matter in the first five years, as well as 4,122 tons of nitrogen oxide.