FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 19, 2011

CONTACT: Coral Lopez, 310-956-5712, [email protected]

Judge Rules Long Beach Clean Truck Program Settlement in Violation of CA Environmental Law; A Victory for Long Beach Residents in the Continued Fight For Clean Air

A Statement by Chair Patricia Castellanos of LAANE, on behalf of the Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports

“This Court decision is a victory for Long Beach residents. The ruling affirms concerns from clean air advocates that have long declared the Long Beach Port’s backroom deal nothing short of caving in to industry polluters at the expense of residents and the environment. In their settlement with the American Trucking Associations – an organization that has opposed clean air regulation locally and nationally – the port let industry polluters off the hook by giving up the concession agreements designed to monitor and enforce emission standards.

“Community groups, environmentalists, harbor residents and workers continue to stand behind the comprehensive EPA award-winning program at the neighboring Los Angeles Port, where enforcing emission standards by holding trucking companies directly responsible for the purchase and maintenance of the clean truck fleets remains a priority.

“The Los Angeles Clean Truck Program continues to be the only long-term sustainable model worth fighting for. From our perspective, and economists agree, contract drivers are paid too little to acquire and properly maintain clean-technology trucks. Already the implementation of incomplete and weakened versions of clean truck programs like the program at the Port of Long Beach have given way to the very reality that created the cycle of poverty and pollution we have fought against. Individual workers are being forced to pay for these new trucks, putting working families in the difficult position of choosing between necessary truck maintenance and paying their bills at home.

“We will not stop fighting until we achieve a stable and sustainable port trucking market that is no longer subsidized by the lungs or livelihoods of drivers and port communities.”

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The Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports is a unique partnership of environmental, public health, community, labor, faith, business, civil rights, and environmental justice organizations that promote sustainable economic development at ports coast to coast to make the port trucking system a less polluting, more competitive generator of good quality jobs for residents, workers, and business alike. We are over 150 organizations strong nationwide. Visit us at www.cleanandsafeports.org to learn more about our efforts at the federal level and in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle, Tacoma, New York, Newark, and South Florida.