NY-NJ Port Authority Offers $28 M in Truck Replacement Aid
The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey launched a $28 million truck replacement program, partially funded by $7 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, that is expected to rid the airspace of emissions from some 600 diesel trucks model year 1993 and older.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the port authority, N.J. Department of Environmental Protection, N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation, the City of New York Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability, New York City Economic Development Corporation, New York Shipping Association and the cities of Bayonne, Elizabeth, Jersey City and Newark signed a pact that outlines actions such as investing in pollution reduction technologies and developing air pollution inventories. The New York City metropolitan area does not meet air quality standards for ozone and fine particulate matter. Diesel exhaust particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and pose serious health risks, including aggravating the symptoms of asthma and other respiratory problems in healthy individuals.
Judith Enck, EPA regional administrator, said: “Efforts like the Port Authority’s new truck replacement program and the much broader sustainability agreement signed today will go a long way toward cutting this pollution and improving air quality and public health. Reducing dirty diesel emissions will protect the health of truck drivers and other workers at the port, along with the nearby community. I applaud the Port Authority for its leadership.”
Port Authority Chair Anthony R. Coscia said, "The Clean Truck Program is the latest in our efforts to achieve cleaner air at and around our port. On top of our other investments ─ including $600 million to build on-dock rail and $60 million to acquire and preserve environmentally sensitive property ─- we believe this program will help build on our legacy as good environmental stewards."
Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward said, "We have worked closely with all stakeholders to make sure that this new program will help clean up the pollution at our ports, and, in the process, ensure that we do not overburden our already struggling port and trucking industry. I want to thank EPA Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck and the entire EPA for their generous support of this program, and I want to thank all of the members of our Truck Working Group for coming together around such a critical initiative."
The truck replacement program will replace model year 1993 and older trucks with cleaner, 2004 and newer trucks. Trucks manufactured in 2004 and later meet EPA’s later pollution requirements and are up to 98 percent cleaner than older trucks. Under the program, the authority will cover 25 percent of truckers’ costs for newer trucks. To download an application for the truck replacement program, visit www.replacemytruck.org.
The authority also is phasing out pre-1994 trucks beginning Jan. 1, 2011 and pre-2007 trucks beginning Jan. 1, 2017. There are more than 3 million truck trips to and from the Port of New York and New Jersey marine terminals each year, resulting in nearly 2,000 tons of nitrogen oxide and 55 tons of fine particle pollution.
The Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles have embarked on similar programs.
The Truck Replacement Program is part of a broader Clean Air Strategy, which identifies measures to reduce maritime and port-related emissions such as by using cleaner fuels, supporting development of low emission warehouses on port fields, promoting shore power electrification (cold ironing) and other green ideas.