West Coast Ports
Special Report
California ’ s ISRs will set limits on emissions from ports , warehouses , railroads and trucks operating in the state . Kristopher Kettner / Shutterstock . com
“ We all believe we are going to get there ,” Chris Shimoda , senior vice president of government affairs for the California Trucking Association , told the Journal of Commerce ’ s TPM24 conference in Long Beach .
Shimoda was referring specifically to California ’ s Indirect Source Rules ( ISRs ) for ports , warehouses and railroads , which are in varying stages of development . “ It ’ s a question of how quickly and at what cost ,” he said .
The California Air Resources Board ( CARB ), which regulates mobile sources of emissions from vessels , trucks and trains , says it is sensitive to the industry ’ s concerns . However , large port areas in the state such as Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay already operate under strict deadlines and emission reduction requirements contained in the federal Environmental Protections Agency ’ s Clean Air Act , so state and regional regulators have no choice but to implement measures that will achieve compliance with the EPA ’ s standards .
“ We are the connection between California and the EPA ,” Hector de la Torre , CARB ’ s state assembly-appointed member , told the TPM24 conference .
In addition to the ISRs , truckers and drayage operators in California must comply with CARB ’ s Advance Clean Fleets regulation that mandates a phased-in approach to the deployment of zero-emission trucks to 2035 when fleets must be 100 % zero-emission . The regulation was set to take effect on Jan . 1 , 2024 , but enforcement was placed under a temporary stay pending action by the federal EPA .
Outsized costs
Drayage operators at the ports of Los Angeles – Long Beach and Oakland , many of whom are small owner-operators , are struggling to purchase zero-emission trucks , which cost more than $ 400,000 each — three times the price of a new diesel truck — said Matt Schrap , CEO of the Harbor Trucking Association , which represents members in Southern and Northern California .
“ The investments that are required are greater than anywhere else in the world ,” Schrap said .
Battery-powered electric trucks also require a charging network near the ports and along truck corridors in the state that will cost billions of dollars , Shimoda said . A charging infrastructure must be built by 2035 that will add the equivalent capacity of providing electricity to 1 million households , Shimoda said .
The Pacific Merchant Shipping Association ( PMSA ), which represents shipping lines and terminal operators on the West Coast , is most concerned about the port and
“ The investments that are required are greater than anywhere else in the world .”
warehouse ISRs , which mandate that marine terminals and warehouses reduce emissions not only from their own operations , but from the shipping lines , truckers and cargo owners that use their facilities , said Thomas Jelenic , PMSA ’ s vice president .
Jelenic noted that Los Angeles and Long Beach are already the most highly regulated ports in the world . He said the ports have reduced diesel particulate matter emissions by more than 85 % and sulfur oxide emission by more than 95 %, already surpassing the standards they set for themselves under their joint Clean Air Action Plan .
Jelenic urged regulators to consider how much more the ports and their stakeholders will be able to reduce emissions under the ISRs , and how much it will cost to achieve those reductions . “ We have to be thoughtful about how we develop these regulations ,” he told TPM24 .
email : bill . mongelluzzo @ spglobal . com
30 Journal of Commerce | March 25 , 2024 www . joc . com