US port clean truck bill debuts - viewed as threat to small business

A BILL to allow seaport municipalities to enforce environmental regulations on trucking firms, has been introduced by New York Democratic Congressman Jerrold Nadler, reported American Shipper.

But shipping interests see the bill as a pro-union ploy to destroy hard-to-organise small owner-operators who find it difficult to raise money meet ever more expensive unfunded environmental mandates.

The Clean Ports Act of 2010 has 57 co-sponsors and would amend the Federal Motor Carrier Act to allow ports to enact enforce clean truck programmes and environmental programmes above current federal requirements.

This bill would allow cities like Los Angeles, New York, Newark, Oakland and Seattle to have the authority order truckers to replace older trucks with alternative energy vehicles.

Opposing the bill is the Clean and Sustainable Transportation Coalition, a group of 40 shippers' transport and logistics' companies.

In a communique, the coalition said: "This legislation endorses a controversial, unnecessary and counterproductive change to longstanding federal trucking rules codified in the Federal Aviation Administration Authorisation Act (FAAAA). If enacted, this bill could unfairly force out of the industry many hard-working small businesses responsible for moving much of the nation's international commerce," the coalition said.

Coalition members include groups such as the National Industrial Transportation League, Waterfront Coalition, World Shipping Council and American Trucking Associations.

The coalition added: "Congressman Nadler's legislation is apparently motivated by the fact that the Teamsters and their supporters believe they will lose the legal battle so they are now asking you to instead change the law so they can win."
(Source:www.schednet.com)