LA & LB Port Launch Fund to Help Transition to Zero Emissions

The Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach April 1, debuted a new Clean Truck Fund, a major initiative designed to help incentivize the development and deployment of zero-emission (ZE) trucks and infrastructure at the ports. Approximately $90 million is expected to be collected the first year, moving the San Pedro Bay port complex toward a goal of being serviced by a 100% zero-emission drayage truck fleet by 2035.

Phasing out older, more polluting trucks has been key to clean air gains the San Pedro Bay ports have made since the original Clean Truck programs were launched in 2008 as part of the Clean Air Action Plan. Under the Clean Truck Fund (CTF) program, the two ports April 1, began collecting a rate of $10 per loaded twenty-foot-equivalent unit on drayage trucks entering or leaving container terminals. Exemptions to the CTF rate will be provided for containers hauled by zero-emission trucks; containers hauled by low-nitrogen oxide-emitting (low-NOx) trucks will receive limited-time exemptions from the CTF rate.

The Los Angeles Harbor Commission last week approved priority targets and pathways that will be used to disseminate the newly collected funds, including:

• Truck Voucher Incentive Program: To incentivize the purchase of ZE trucks that service the San Pedro Bay port complex, the Port of Los Angeles will provide first-come, first-served, point-of-sale ZE truck purchase vouchers for at least $150,000 to licensed motor carriers in the Port Drayage Truck Registry. Each truck funded will be obligated to provide drayage service to the San Pedro Bay Port complex for a period of three years.
• Infrastructure Funding Program: Modeled after existing federal, state and local grant programs and to be managed by a third-party administrator, this program provides funds to help drayage licensed motor carriers to install or obtain ZE charging and/or fueling infrastructure. Funding could also be used to support public charging and fueling infrastructure for zero emission drayage trucks.

More information about the Clean Truck Fund rate, including a fact sheet and frequently asked questions, may be found here.