To accelerate its zero-emissions goal for trucks hauling at the Port of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners voted Thursday to start charging non-exempt trucks a Clean Truck Fund Rate on April 1.
Cargo owners whose containers are moved in and out of the port’s terminals by truck will be subject to the $10 per TEU rate established by the L.A. and Long Beach ports in March.
Exempt from the rate will be zero-emission trucks, loaded containers entering and exiting marine terminals by on-dock rail and trucks that meet or surpass California’s low NOx standard through Dec. 31, 2027. But to get the short-term exemption, low NOx trucks have to be part of the Port Drayage Truck Registry and in port service by the end of 2022.
The Port of Long Beach is expected to also enact the rate, which is anticipated to generate about $45 million per port. Those funds will go toward efforts to eliminate truck emissions by 2035 by investing in zero-emissions trucks and related infrastructure.
“As we continue to move record-breaking cargo through the busiest port in the Western Hemisphere, it is vital that we implement the Clean Truck Fund Rate to expedite the transition of trucks servicing the port to zero-emissions,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said. “Cleaning up the air at our port will protect surrounding neighborhoods, workers, and our region as whole.”
The rate is expected to remain in place at least until Dec. 31, 2034.
The port also has said that it plans to ask drayage company-and-truck manufacturer partners for proposals involving the deployment of 10 zero-emissions trucks that conduct short-hauls to and from the ports. The chosen team would receive a $3 million grant.
