LOS ANGELES — The Port of Los Angeles says a lawsuit by the American Trucking Associations will not affect implementation of the first phase of its Clean Truck Program, which starts Oct. 1.

Among other things, the Clean Truck Program at the port requires drayage providers to commit to using 100-percent employee drivers by calendar year 2013 in a phased-in schedule. This way, the port will be able to hold those companies accountable for maintaining environmentally friendly trucks and employing properly credentialed drivers.

A lawsuit by the ATA was filed on July 28 challenging the port’s right to implement the rules. The lawsuit does not attack other aspects of the Clean Truck Program, however.

Even if the court issues an injunction temporarily halting the concession requirement, the port insists it will move forward as planned with all other aspects of the Clean Truck Program.

This means several key components of the program will, in any event, go into effect on Oct. 1, including:

All trucks entering Los Angeles and Long Beach port terminals must be registered on the ports’ Drayage Truck Registry; pre-1989 trucks will be banned from entering port terminals; A Clean Trucks Fee will be levied against trucks entering Port of Los Angeles terminals that do not meet 2007 EPA emissions standards; and a federal Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC) will be required for all drivers to gain access onto port terminals.

"The ATA lawsuit is not a pass to ignore the in-place deadlines of the Clean Truck Plan," said Geraldine Knatz, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles. "Drayage trucking companies who are serious about doing business with the Port would be prudent to continue on track to complete concessionaire applications, get their trucks registered on the system, make sure their drivers have TWIC cards and make sure they have no pre-1989 trucks in their port fleet that will be denied access on October 1."