ILWU security worker Richard Brown checks a truck driver's ID in Long Beach. Click on the photo to read the article in the Press Telegram.
The official anniversary of the joint Clean Truck Program implemented by the cities of Long Beach and Los Angeles was Oct. 1, 2009 – a year after trucks built before 1989 were banned access to all port terminals. But with the New Year came new rules, and banned trucks now include any rig built before 1994 or not retrofitted with exhaust filters to meet modern standards. To date, officials say the measures have slashed diesel pollution from trucks by 80 percent, though they admit some of that decline is attributable to an unprecedented drop in cargo volumes, down 20 percent since their 2007 peak. Meanwhile, port authorities in Seattle, New York, New Jersey, San Diego, Florida and Portland are pursuing similar plans, but many are awaiting the outcome of a court case involving Los Angeles and the American Trucking Association before deciding which direction to proceed.