The ban on dirty trucks at the Port of Los Angeles violates federal law that prohibits states and local entities from regulating interstate commerce, attorneys for the trucking industry said Tuesday in opening statements in a federal trial, The Associated Press reports.
The case pits the American Trucking Associations against the nation’s busiest port over its Clean Truck Program, which was launched in 2008 to reduce diesel emissions by banning the dirtiest trucks from carrying port cargo.
ATA attorney Robert Digges said the requirement would reduce the number of haulers at the port by prohibiting truck companies from contracting with independent drivers.
The ATA said it supports clean air goals, but it opposes a provision in the plan that prohibits truck companies from contracting with independent drivers.
Instead, independent drivers would be required to become employees of trucking companies no later than the end of 2012.
