By Amy Goldsmith, State Director, New Jersey Currents Winter 2010

New Jerseyans now face the nation's second greatest cancer risk from diesel soot in the nation. According to UMDNJ, treatment for asthma alone accounts for 12 percent of New Jersey's managed care costs.

In Newark, school children experience a 25 percent asthma rate, double the state and national rates. The city's residents are hospitalized and experience premature deaths at twice the rate of Essex County Suburbs.

The Coalition for Healthy Ports (CHPs), which the NJ Environmental Federation chairs, consists of 48 environmental/justice, faith, community and labor groups working together to get both clean air and good jobs for port drivers and adjacent communities. To meet our goals, we are seeking a solution similar to the plan adopted at the Port of Los Angeles (LA). Elements of the 2008 LA plan include:

• trucks owned and maintained by trucking by companies
• drivers work for the company
• incentives ($5k) for scrapping old, dirty trucks
• grants awarded to subsidize the purchasing of clean (post 2007 compliant) trucks
• shippers pay a container fee ($70 per container) for every dirty truck that moves their goods in and out of the port

In one year and during the worst recession in history, a total of 1216 brand new clean trucks were privately purchased by over 400 small trucking companies (average of 8-9 trucks). Thousands more were scrapped and purchased with public subsidies. As a result, there was an 80 percent reduction in diesel air pollution in and around the Port of LA - an amazing achievement. However, the American Trucking Association (ATA) fought the plan, by taking it to the 9th Circuit Court and got a federal injunction on elements of the plan.

Ultimately, we won our day in court. On August 26, 2010, after a trial on the merits, the Court ruled in favor of the City and held that the entire Concession Agreement as originally approved by the Board is legally enforceable. Fundamentally, the court decided that the ports act as a "business" and therefore have the power to set standards and conditions for their operation including the clean trucks program in LA.

Simultaneously, the Coalition for Healthy Ports was participating in the PANYNJ's Truck Working Group - a body representing a wide range of interests and charged with making recommendations for addressing pollution related to dirty diesel trucks used at the ports. Over 75 percent of the port container (drayage) trucks in NY/NJ are operated by independent contractors. Like the Port of LA, they are some of the dirtiest trucks used in the region - over 7,000 truck trips per day with 2,400 of them being older than 1994. One dirty truck emits the same as 60 "state of the art" 2007 or newer engine models.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) ultimately proposed a plan in spite of the Coalition for Healthy Ports' objections. The Plan would:

• establish a loan program for 640 drivers to upgrade their "frequent calling" pre-1994 trucks to 2004 or better trucks
• ban pre-1994 trucks January 2011 from entering the port
• ban pre-2007 trucks in 2017
• establish a "voluntary" sticker program to be checked by port authority police at the gate
• issue driver warning tickets then subsequent 1 day to 1 month suspension from port access if stopped and not properly registered and stickered with a 1994 or newer truck.

After almost a year, the loan company has screened around 125 loan applicants, issued approvals for up to 11 drivers. It is not clear if even those drivers will decide to actually purchase 2004 or better trucks through this loan program as most other drivers as just selling their 1994 trucks and buying a 1995 truck or better on their own for a much cheaper price. This allows them to still operate at the port until 2017 without any penalty.

Why has this come to be?

The drivers make on average $7-10 per hour after expenses. They can not buy cleaner trucks of any age, not because they do not want to, but because they can not afford to. Despite the August 2010 federal court decision affirming the authority of the ports to establish clean trucks programs, the PANYNJ decided to be more timid not bold. In October 2010, they made their sticker program completely voluntary, thereby eliminating all enforcement and truck/pollution tracking tools.

What can we do to get good jobs and clean air everywhere?

1. Support the federal Clean Ports Act of 2010 (H.R. 5967). The lead sponsor is Congressman Nadler (NY) with the entire NJ democratic delegation on board. We are hopeful that U.S. Senator Lautenberg will play a lead role on the Senate side. H.R. 5967 provides port authorities with the legal statutory authority to set standards and conditions within their fence lines. It will free the ports of future litigation in this regard.
2. Thank your U.S. Congressman if he is a cosponsor. Ask Republican members of the NJ delegation (Congressmen Lance, LoBiondo and Smith) to become a co-sponsor of H.R. 5967. The governors of NY and NJ have the power to change the terms of the debate and policy at the PANYNJ. Write a letter to Governor Christie - tell him that you want to see a LA-like clean trucks program at our NJ ports.

Take Action Now! It is a matter of life and breath.

For information contact, Amy Goldsmith, NJEF State Director and Chair of the Coalition for Healthy Ports at 732-280-8988 or agoldsmith@cleanwater.org.