Business interests that have been critical of an air pollution reduction plan drawn up by the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles got one more chance to make their case at a hearing last week.
They got to air their concerns about the plan at a meeting at Long Beach City Hall. The meeting was co-hosted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which likely will have to pass measures on its own as part of the plan.
The ports, which have expanded rapidly as trade with China and the rest of Asia has soared, have become the single biggest source of air pollution in the region. Environmentalists and community groups have put on pressure to clean up the ports and threatened lawsuits aimed at stopping port growth.
The facilities serve as Orange County’s deepwater ports, providing a critical link to Asia for companies such as Buena Park-based Yamaha Corporation of America, Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America and others.
The Clean Air Action Plan, released by the ports last June, sets out a series of measures designed to reduce diesel emissions sharply in the next five years from the ships, trains, trucks and equipment in the ports.
All told, the measures are expected to cost about $2 billion, with the ports committing to put up only $200 million of that to replace highly polluting truck engines. Much of the rest would come from a mix of state and federal funds and fees levied on shippers, truckers and other port businesses.
Port officials are set to release a final draft plan that then will go to the boards of each port for approval, possibly as early as this month. But businesses have complained that their concerns have not been addressed, saying the plan is focused too much on cleanup.
“Business has not been involved in the closed door conversations that led to the creation of this draft clean air action plan. It is all green and no grow,” said Gary Toebben, president and chief executive of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. “There is no economic analysis. Some of the diesel air pollution reduction targets in the plan may not be achievable. But since business has not been at the table, that view is not being heard.”
Meanwhile, shipping companies represented by the San Francisco-based Pacific Merchant Shipping Association took issue with the strategy of forcing them to agree to pollution reduction measures as part of their leases with the ports.
Many of the improvements required at port terminals are beyond their control, the association said. It also argued that imposing additional fees or tariffs on shipping companies may violate international treaties regarding commerce over the seas.
Diesel Engine Idling
Last month, the California Air Resources Board approved a series of regulations designed to cut emissions from idling diesel trucks.
These regulations could hit commercial truckers and construction contractors hard, since delivery trucks and construction-related trucks frequently are in idling mode.
Many of the measures are aimed at diesel engine makers, setting forth specific exhaust standards for particulates, oxides of nitrogen and other pollutants commonly found in diesel exhaust. Also, most diesel engines must have the ability to shut down after five minutes of idling.
But drivers also will have to take note of some of the regulations. After Jan. 1, 2008, drivers cannot operate auxiliary power systems on their idling trucks that power heaters, air conditioners and radios unless those systems meet the new engine emission standards.
Independent truckers are expected to have the most difficulty meeting these new standards, since many of them use older vehicles that would need to be upgraded or replaced to meet this and other emission reduction regulations.
Enterprise Zone Regulations
Companies in enterprise zones around the state got an election eve boost from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week.
He renewed authorization for 23 enterprise zones around the state, saying they “lead to more jobs, less poverty and long-term economic stability.”
Enterprise zones were set up 20 years ago as a way to boost economic development in run-down areas. The program is one of the few state tools economic development officials have. Companies that locate in enterprise zones get tax credits for employees they hire from within the zones.
But enterprise zones have come under fire as critics say the tax breaks go to companies that don’t really need them and that employees are hired from outside the zones but claimed as tax credits anyway. This year, a drive to scale back the enterprise zones was defeated in the Legislature. One law did pass that tightens some of the eligibility standards.
Some of the zones had been in limbo after their authorization expired in October. They continued to operate under earlier rules, though companies hiring people after the expiration couldn’t claim tax credits until authorization was renewed.
The only enterprise zone in Orange County is in Santa Ana. Its authorization doesn’t expire until 2008, though officials there are lobbying for renewal. The governor’s move last week didn’t cover Santa Ana.
Fine is a staff writer with the Los Angeles Business Journal.
