| September 15, 2009 The
South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) has approved funding to
replace up to 900 dirty diesel trucks operating in and around the ports of
Los Angeles and Long Beach with low-emission models by the end of this year.
AQMD’s Governing Board approved the funding on Sept. 11. AQMD staff now
will work with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to seek funding for
the maximum number of trucks under Prop. 1B, with an emphasis on replacing
older trucks with low-emission natural gas-powered models.
“Communities around the ports are exposed to some of the region’s highest
cancer risks due to diesel emissions from trucks and other sources at the
ports,” said Barry Wallerstein, AQMD’s executive officer. “This will help
reduce that cancer risk in a matter of months.”
Through its Goods Movement Program, CARB has allocated up to $45.45
million in voter-approved Proposition 1B funds to AQMD for the replacement
of dirty diesel trucks by the end of this year. AQMD and the ports have
committed an additional $25 million to further incentivize natural gas
trucks.
A high percentage of the region’s oldest and highest-emitting heavy-duty
trucks consist of “drayage” trucks hauling containers to and from the ports
of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Truckers approved for funding will receive up to $50,000 to replace a
pre-2004 diesel truck with a 2007 or later diesel model and up to $100,000
to replace a pre-2004 diesel truck with an alternative-fuel, less polluting,
model typically powered by natural gas.
The funds are needed to help the trucking industry because the state’s
drayage truck regulation will not allow any pre-1994 trucks or pre-2004
trucks not retrofitted with PM traps to enter the ports after Jan. 1, 2010.
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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