Public Health is No. 1, Says U.S. District Judge in Denial of FMC Motion to Shelve the LA-LB Clean Truck...( Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports ...),Health

Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports Calls on Members of Congress to Protect Port Green-Growth Policy that will Save Lives, Improve Safety & Security

LOS ANGELES and WASHINGTON, April 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a victory for the movement to clean the air and create good green jobs at our nation's ports, over 80 organizations united in the Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports in California celebrated U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon's denial of the Federal Maritime Commission's (FMC) motion for a preliminary injunction that would have threatened the San Pedro Bay Ports' Clean Trucks Programs.

Judge Leon's denial was based on the federal agency's failure to demonstrate that the LA and Long Beach Ports' differing "concession" models would cause irreparable harm to -- or create anti-competitive conditions for -- the goods movement industry. The Clean Trucks Programs aim to reduce diesel truck pollution by 80%, deliver $5 billion to the regional economy and create stronger safety and security enforcement. If successful, the initiatives will help clear a pathway to job-creating future port expansion projects.

The FMC has the ability to take action against agreements in the ocean shipping industry that it believes are likely by a reduction in competition to unreasonably raise rates and decrease services, but Judge Leon (appointed by George W. Bush), in his opinion, noted the Ports "are implementing ambitious, multi-faceted programs to reduce high levels of air pollution while also striving to improve the Ports' safety and security and to enable future development ... Given the protracted and public deliberative process that led to the development of the CTPs and the responsibility the [Ports] have for improving the area's public health and managing the Ports' efficient operations, the Court finds that the public interest, at this point, favors denying the FMC's motion" for a preliminary injunction.