Congratulations Port of Los Angeles—The Federal Maritime Commission is Finally Giving You Praise Instead of Headaches

For those of you who follow my blog and David Pettit’s blog, you may have followed the epic battle that ensued between the Federal Maritime Commission and the Port of Los Angeles over the Clean Trucks Program last year.  To get up to speed, you can read here, here, here, and here.  Needless to say, the fight the D.C. agency picked with the twin ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach was long, drawn out and a waste of taxpayer dollars. 

In an odd turn of events, the Federal Maritime Commission Chair, Richard A. Lidinsky, gave his Inaugural Earth Day Award to the Port of Los Angeles for its Clean Trucks Program yesterday.  My assumption is that this olive branch serves as an official apology for the prior administration’s tenacious attempts to throw every roadblock possible in front of the Port of Los Angeles in implementing its vision for a more sustainable port trucking system. 

This award has special significance because it signals that the Maritime Commission, instead of seeking to stand in the way of progress in cleaning up our seaports, has a renewed vigor to support and applaud significant efforts to clean up the operation of diesel engines that contribute to sickness in port communities throughout the nation.  Chair Lidinsky is right on the money when he states—

"One of my top priorities at the Federal Maritime Commission is advancing the Obama Administration's goals of creating green jobs and seeking a more sustainable approach to maritime issues. And the Port of Los Angeles has been piloting the way on these issues. I look forward to continuing to work with Mayor Villaraigosa and Director Knatz as a helpful partner."

The Chairman’s realization of how good the Port of Los Angeles program is despite the emotional disdain of lobbyists in the trucking industry should be applauded.  Although the award is from the FMC Chair, a note of thanks for all those who breathe the foul air in Los Angeles must go out to Commissioner Joseph Brennan, who throughout the skirmish between the Maritime Commission and the Port of Los Angeles provided striking dissents noting the absurdity of the maritime commission’s actions in trying to stop the Port of Los Angeles’ efforts to advance its business interest by resolving critical public health issues that had essentially grinded growth at the port to a halt.

Who knows?  Perhaps, the American Trucking Association will give the Port of Los Angeles an award for its Clean Trucks Program.  However, based on what I saw Tuesday in the courtroom and David Pettit’s recent analysis of the litigation brought by the Virginia-based trucking lobbyist organization against the Port of Los Angeles, I’m not holding my breath.