Port of Los Angeles weighing its next move after Supreme Court ruling on “clean trucks”

Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling rejecting two more concession requirements in the Port of Los Angeles clean-trucks program was praised by the American Trucking Associations.

“We are gratified that, at the conclusion of many years of litigation, the highest court in the land unanimously agreed with ATA on these rules,” said Bill Graves, ATA president and CEO.

As reported here, the ATA’s position has always been that the port’s attempt to regulate drayage was was inconsistent with Congress’s command that the trucking industry be shaped by market forces, rather than an “incompatible patchwork” of state and local regulations.

The Court’s opinion – written by Justice Elena Kagan – bars the port from implementing various placarding and parking requirements for trucking companies operating at the port.

“The program to improve air quality at the Port of Los Angeles is the most extensive effort to clean up a port in the world, helping to make LA the cleanest and greenest big city in the U.S., said out going Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. “Our Clean Truck program has reduced harmful truck emissions by 91%.  We are reviewing the Supreme Court’s decision, but we intend to continue our efforts to clean LA’s Port to the extent the law allows.”

Port of Los Angeles spokesman, Phillip Sanfield told LM that the port’s legal teams and senior staff are “analyzing our next steps.”