| Nov. 3, 2006 At
"Mobile Board Meeting" in Long Beach
LONG BEACH – Southland air quality officials approved $36 million in
funding at a special meeting today to help clean up dirty diesel trucks
operating at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.
“Thousands of highly polluting, older diesel trucks are spewing toxic-
and smog-forming pollution into communities around the ports,” said William
A. Burke, Ed.D., Governing Board Chairman of the South Coast Air Quality
Management District (AQMD). “We hope to reduce the health risk to these
communities by helping to defray the cost of purchasing new, cleaner
trucks.”
AQMD’s Governing Board today adopted a resolution committing a total of
$36 million over five years -- $7.2 million per year – for a truck fleet
modernization program designed to help clean up heavy-duty diesel trucks
servicing the ports area.
In addition to today’s funding, AQMD earlier this year approved $6
million for the truck fleet modernization program as well as $6 million for
a liquefied natural gas (LNG) port truck program. AQMD is currently
accepting applications for the truck fleet modernization program on a
first-come, first-served basis for up to $150,000 per truck. AQMD also is
working with the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to implement the LNG
truck project.
The programs are funded by the statewide Carl Moyer Program, which
offsets the cost of purchasing low-emission engines and equipment.
AQMD’s funding commitment will help implement one measure of the San
Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan that calls for accelerated replacement
and retrofitting of heavy-duty trucks operating at the ports during the next
five years.
Today’s event follows a previous “Mobile Board Meeting” conducted in Long
Beach in November 2005 in response to concerns about air pollution from the
ports. AQMD also conducted a town hall meeting in the Long Beach city
council chambers on Thursday evening where more than 80 area residents
shared their concerns about air pollution from the ports with AQMD Governing
Board members and staff.
At today’s meeting, AQMD staff also recommended the ports strengthen
their draft San Pedro Bay Clean Air Action Plan in six key areas:
- Ports should use their tariff authority to require port-wide
implementation of some measures, including the use of low-sulfur fuel in a
ship’s main engine;
- Identify additional funding sources as early as possible to implement
the Clean Air Action Plan control measures;
- Develop a mechanism to require new control technologies to be
implemented as they become available and not only when long-term leases –
some in excess of 30 years -- expire;
- Factor long-term air quality goals into the approval process for port
projects;
- Incorporate updated emission reduction targets from AQMD’s 2007 Air
Quality Management Plan into the Clean Air Action Plan for use in
establishing the San Pedro Bay Port Air Quality Standards; and
- Develop more specific information for milestones, monitoring and
tracking the Clean Air Action Plan control measures.
The Los Angeles and Long Beach Boards of Harbor Commissioners are
expected to consider adopting the Clean Air Action Plan this month.
The ports estimate its plan will cost more than $2 billion to implement,
mostly for replacing and retrofitting older diesel trucks.
At today’s meeting, AQMD Board Chairman Burke also announced the creation
of the AQMD Governing Board Marine Port Subcommittee to monitor
implementation of the ports Clean Air Action Plan and parallel measures in
AQMD’s 2007 Air Quality Management Plan. The subcommittee will meet
semi-annually with Harbor Commissioners of both ports to ensure measures
from both plans are implemented in a cooperative manner and that AQMD
funding is distributed consistent with AQMD policy. AQMD Board Members
Miguel Pulido, Jan Perry, and Tonia Reyes Uranga were appointed by Chairman
Burke to serve on the subcommittee.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major
portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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