Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the senior Northeastern Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, spearheaded efforts in the House to reduce truck-borne pollution in and around our nation’s shipping ports. Joined by 78 Members of Congress, Nadler sent a letter to Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair James Oberstar and Ranking Member John Mica expressing strong support for federal legislation to allow major container ports to implement stronger environmental standards on trucks. Nadler plans to introduce such legislation – which has been endorsed by over 100 environmental, labor and business organizations across the country – in the coming weeks.

“With some 87 million Americans living near container ports, it is time for the federal government to develop better means of mitigating pollution and emissions around the ports,” said Nadler. “While the Port of Los Angeles has taken the lead and instituted a model Clean Trucks program, this is a national issue and deserves a national shift in environmental policy. I look forward to working with my colleagues and stakeholders within all facets of the port industry to introduce legislation to allow ports to tighten their own environmental standards.”

“We applaud Rep. Nadler for his leadership to update federal transportation law so it is consistent with the Clean Air Act,” said Dave Foster, Executive Director of the BlueGreen Alliance. “The Congressman rightly highlights that local government, such as ports, need to be part of a layered approach to reduce air pollution in our cities and across the nation. Our coalition looks forward to working with Congress to advance legislation, which will reduce pollution, make our ports healthier communities and create green jobs.”

Orlando Marcano, a truck driver at the Port of New York and New Jersey, said: “After I completed a tour of active duty, I was ready to work hard and apply the values and skills I learned in the Army to earn a middle-class paycheck. But the system is so rigged I now breathe toxic fumes day in day out and earn less as a commercial big rig driver than I did when I worked at McDonald’s. Our jobs are like sweatshops on wheels – we need more leaders like Congressman Nadler standing up for cleaner air and for port truck drivers like me who keep our economy running.”

The following is the text of the letter (viewable as a pdf here);

April 27, 2010

The Honorable James L. Oberstar
Chairman
Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure
2167 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable John L. Mica
Ranking Member
Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure
2163 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 201515

Dear Chairman Oberstar and Ranking Member Mica:

We write to express support for federal legislation that would allow our nation’s major container ports to implement environmental standards above current federal requirements. With an estimated 87 million Americans living in port adjacent communities which fail to meet federal air quality standards, the pollution generated by ports and port trucking is an issue that warrants our attention. We commend your leadership in developing a new national transportation policy framework and would like to add to it this important harbor trucking issue.

Fortunately, ports supported by their local governments have begun taking the initiative to address a highly polluting drayage system. We know you share our congratulations to the Port of Los Angeles for the success of its Clean Truck Program. In just one year, the program has reportedly replaced nearly 6,000 dirty diesel trucks with clean diesel and alternative energy vehicles; eliminating 30 tons of diesel particulate matter which will reduce diesel particulate pollution by an estimated 70 percent. This is equivalent to removing 200,000 automobiles from the road. We are unaware of another truck emissions reductions program which has had such remarkable success in such a short time period.

Unfortunately, the program has been challenged in federal court. The current motor carrier statue enacted as part of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) allows state and local entities to regulate trucking companies only for “safety” related programs, and an injunction has been issued to temporarily block the City's ability to directly enforce through concession agreements a ban on motor carriers from bringing dirty trucks into the Port. The court injunction also prevents the Port from enforcing economic requirements that will ensure expensive new clean trucks will be properly maintained by ending the practice of improperly designating employees as “independent contractors.”

This requirement was determined to be the best way to ensure that the cost of compliance with environmental regulations was borne by trucking companies instead of drivers. The consequence has been devastating on workers who are seeing their incomes fall by nearly half because trucking companies continue to misclassify their drivers as “independent contractors” and require them to pay for the operation and maintenance of new vehicles. This in turn threatens the efficacy of the regulations and the tremendous environmental progress made by the Clean Truck Program.

This is not only a California issue, but a national one. Ports around the country – like the port terminals in New York and New Jersey, Oakland, Seattle and Miami – are grappling with similar obstacles presented by port trucking, but are unable to implement a comprehensive program given the legal uncertainty and injunction against the program in Los Angeles.

Based on these recent events, we believe that federal law needs to be updated to ensure that ports can enact and enforce Clean Truck programs. We stand ready to work with you to allow ports to establish sustainable green growth programs that work for business, local communities and workers.

Sincerely,

Rep. Jerrold Nadler
Rep. Jose Serrano
Rep. Howard Berman
Rep. Eliot Engel
Rep. Henry Waxman
Rep. Steven Rothman
Rep. George Miller
Rep. Nick Rahall
Rep. Brad Sherman
Rep. Donald Payne
Rep. Gary Ackerman
Rep. Lynn Woolsey
Rep. Robert Andrews
Rep. Anthony Weiner
Rep. Adam Schiff
Rep. Steve Israel
Rep. John Garamendi
Rep. Nydia Velazquez
Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Rep. Jane Harman
Rep. Tim Holden
Rep. Judy Chu
Rep. Bob Filner
Rep. Ed Towns
Rep. Joe Baca
Rep. Barbara Lee
Rep. Alcee Hastings
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy
Rep. Maxine Waters
Rep. Gregory Meeks
Rep. Nita Lowey
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard
Rep. Carolyn Maloney
Rep. Joseph Crowley
Rep. Laura Richardson
Rep. Michael Honda
Rep. Russ Carnahan
Rep. Grace Napolitano
Rep. Alan Grayson
Rep. Martin Heinrich
Rep. Michael Capuano
Rep. Henry Mitchell
Rep. Mark Schauer
Rep. Raul Grijalva
Rep. Daniel Lipinski
Rep. Mazie Hirono
Rep. Gwen Moore
Rep. John Hall
Rep. Linda Sanchez
Rep. John Adler
Rep. Rush Holt
Rep. Lois Capps
Rep. Jim McDermott
Rep. Kendrick Meek
Rep. Loretta Sanchez
Rep. Keith Ellison
Rep. Sam Farr
Rep. Albio Sires
Rep. James McGovern
Rep. Brian Higgins
Rep. Phil Hare
Rep. Christopher Carney
Rep. Jay Inslee
Rep. Jerry McNerney
Rep. Gerald Connolly
Rep. Fortney Pete Stark
Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr.
Rep. Anna Eshoo
Rep. Timothy Bishop
Rep. Zoe Lofgren
Rep. Michael Arcuri
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Rep. Yvette Clarke
Rep. Mike Doyle
Rep. Charles Rangel
Rep. Timothy Walz
Rep. Marcy Kaptur
Rep. Susan Davis
Rep. Jackie Speier