A federal judge, bound by outdated laws temporarily halted several requirements of a plan to reduce pollution at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach including a mandate for independent drivers to become employees of trucking companies, the Associated Press reported. Much to the American Trucking Association’s dismay, U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder left several components of the Clean Trucks Program intact, but was forced to gut key provisions of the policy aimed to curb diesel emission at the nation's busiest port complex by phasing out 17,000 old trucks.

The temporary injunction came only hours after the  American Lung Association released its 2009 Annual State of the Air Report. Not surprisingly, the report ranked Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside metro areas, as the worst when it came to ozone and particle pollution. (Of course, those of us that live and work around the ports don’t need piles of data to prove just how ‘ozoney’ it can get here…cough, cough)

Sadly, despite similar reports in past years and the demand from both residents and workers for a sustainable Clean Trucks Program, the American Trucking Association proved they would rather sign a blank check to litigate against a life-saving program than help pay the cost to clean up the deadly pollution their businesses create in Southern California and in other major U.S. ports. As the Press-Telegram reported:

Backed by environmentalists and labor groups, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the L.A. port had pushed for a provision requiring harbor-area trucking companies gradually take responsibility for the purchase and maintenance of new, low-emission trucks by January 2013.

The approach, which port authorities argued was needed to shift the burden of expensive new trucks off low-wage drivers in years to come, was supported by President Barack Obama and California's entire Democratic Congressional delegation.

Tom Politeo responded on behalf of the Southern California environmental-labor-community alliance: “The federal deregulation of port trucking, like that of the financial sector, has been an absolute calamity that literally chokes and congests Los Angeles and other metropolitan regions along our nation’s coastlines. This upsetting ruling clearly demonstrates we cannot let 20^th century laws continue to govern a key American industry in which the challenges of the 21^st century – globalization and global warming – collide.

“This blue-green alliance will not stop fighting until we achieve a stable and sustainable market that no longer puts our lungs and livelihoods at risk. We will continue to explore all legal and political tools available to ensure justice for port drivers and community residents. We are confident the LA Clean Trucks Program can and will become the clean-commerce model for port trucking nationwide.” More