FMC to Hold Another Closed Meeting on LA/LB PortCheck Agreement
The Federal Maritime Commission has issued a notice announcing that it will hold a partially closed meeting on February 11, 2009 in Washington, DC. During the closed portion of the meeting, the FMC will consider FMC Agreement No. 201199, the Port Fee Services Agreement.
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(This is the fourth meeting on Agreement No. 201199, which was received by the FMC on November 3, 2009.)
Agreement Authorizes Port Check, MTOs to Provide Certain Services to LA/LB
Agreement No. 201199 authorizes Port Check LLC and the marine terminal operators (MTOs) to provide certain services to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach relating to the collection of the clean truck fee (CTF)1 and the infrastructure cargo fee (ICF)2, control of access to port property, and related activities.
The Port of Long Beach previously stated that PortCheck - similar to the existing PierPass system - will collect the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach tariff requirements under the Clean Truck Program (CTP)3, etc.
Ports Set to Collect CTF, Start Electronic Gate Access February 18th
According to recent press releases, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are scheduled to begin collecting their CTF and start electronic gate access at the ports on February 18, 2009.
According to PortCheck sources, while the PortCheck agreement is under FMC review until February 13, 2009, it will be the system used to operate the gate access system and collect the CTF.
1Under the CTP, the cargo owner is responsible for paying the CTF. The CTF is slated to be $35 per loaded TEU (20 foot equivalent) on containers that move through the terminals. Cargo moved via on-dock rail is not included. Certain diesel trucks with newer engines, as well as certain alternative fuel trucks may be exempt from the CTF (depending on the port).
2The ICF on containers is planned to last for seven years, and each year the fee will fluctuate from about $10 to $18 per TEU, depending on the construction costs expected to be incurred in that calendar year. The Port of Long Beach recently postponed its collection of the ICF by at least six months, and expected the Port of Los Angeles to do the same. (See ITT's Online Archives or 12/04/08 news, 08120420, for BP summary.)
3Note that the FMC has filed a lawsuit to block portions of the CTP as anti-competitive. U.S. District Court Judge Leon said he would not rule on the FMC's request for a preliminary injunction until sometime in 2009. Also pending Judge Leon's decision is the ports' motion to dismiss the FMC's complaint.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 01/20/09 news, 09012035, for BP summary of the FMC's denial of an expedited review of Agreement No. 201199, etc.
See ITT's Online Archives or 01/13/09, 12/16/08, and 12/02/08 news, 09011320, 08121615, and 08120210, for BP summaries of the other three FMC meetings on Agreement No. 201199.
See ITT's Online Archives or 02/05/09, Ref: 09020515), for BP summary of the ports starting electronic gate access on February 18th. See ITT's Online Archives or 01/26/09 news, 09012605, for BP summary of LA/LB ports set to begin collecting the CTF starting on February 18th.)
FMC meeting notice (FR Pub 02/06/09) available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-2638.pdf
Text of FMC Agreement No. 201199 (received 11/03/08) available at http://www2.fmc.gov/agreement_lib/201199-000-P.pdf
Additional PortCheck information available at http://www.portcheck.org and http://www.pierpass-tmf.org