SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal judge has refused to grant a preliminary injunction to stop the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach from implementing the concessions requirements of their clean air plans, which include forcing drayage companies to hire company drivers only by 2013.

According to several media reports, U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder says she made the preliminary decision primarily on a security issue, reasoning that the new system would give the ports a way to better screen for weapons of mass destruction coming into the harbor.

The Clean Truck Program is an attempt by the ports to hold carriers accountable for maintaining environmentally friendly trucks and employing properly credentialed drivers.

The American Trucking Associations filed a suit in the U.S. District Court challenging the controversial program, saying that making carriers commit to using 100-percent employee drivers is unreasonable for the drayage sector.

Carriers that don’t comply would be restricted from the ports or have limited access.

However, while Judge Snyder refused to block the program, she did say "there may be merit" to ATA’s argument that the ports are violating federal regulations prohibiting interference with interstate commerce, according to the Journal of Commerce.

She said the ports’ argument — that much like landlords, they have the right to manage and control the terminal lands as they see fit — "is doubtful."

The judge will review the case before issuing her final ruling by Thursday.

Meanwhile, in a related matter, California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced a crackdown on trucking companies operating at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles that misclassify their drivers as independent contractors.

An investigation by his office uncovered numerous state labor law violations committed by several trucking companies operating at the ports.

— via Truckinginfo.com