Changes urged in proposal for ports

Some of the nation’s largest business coalitions and trade associations have floated changes to the clean-air plan under consideration for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in a letter to the harbor commissioners and mayors of both cities.

The letter, which was released Tuesday but sent Friday, implored city and port officials to scrap a $1.8-billion, five-year drive to eliminate or retrofit all 16,000 aging short-haul trucks that move goods from the wharves to nearby rail yards or warehouses.

It added that the plan was an “anti-competitive proposal” that “is almost sure to be litigated, and, as such, it will not move us closer to cleaner trucks operating in the harbor.”

Among their counterproposals, the groups argued that instead of eliminating the dirty trucks, it would be better to focus on emission standards and mitigation fees.

The letter was signed by groups as diverse as the American Assn. of Exporters and Importers, the California Manufacturers & Technology Assn., the National Retail Federation and the Toy Industry Assn.

It was the latest in a series of requests and counterproposals offered by supporters and detractors.

Environmental groups believe that the ports aren’t moving quickly enough to implement the plan, while opponents accuse the ports of wrongly meddling in matters of foreign trade and interstate commerce.

In the letter, the groups acknowledged the need for $800 million in private industry contributions toward infrastructure improvements, but only if those expenditures or any port-collected user fees were confined to projects inside the two ports. Harbor commissioners have warned “that if necessary the ports would impose their own fee, which probably would be paid by the international shippers and large retailers.”

But the letter argued that “the ports do not have the legal authority under state law to collect fees for projects that fall outside their boundaries. Pursuing these projects in this manner will result in litigation.”

Arley Baker, a spokesman for the Port of Los Angeles, said “We welcome the input and we will look at it thoroughly and give thought to the ideas they represent.”

Art Wong, a spokesman for the Port of Long Beach, noted that a final decision on the plan had not been made, adding that the two boards of commissioners were holding an information workshop on the clean-truck program Friday.

ron.white@latimes.com