The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners on Dec. 20 voted to expand the Port of Long Beach’s Clean Trucks Program to include Class 7 rigs, and to penalize trucking companies that switch cargo between trucks outside port terminals. The Port of Los Angeles adopted similar measures earlier this month.

Under the Clean Trucks Program, Class 8 trucks are subject to strict emissions standards, and older models have been banned progressively from terminals since the program began in 2008. Class 7 trucks, which typically are not used in drayage, were not included in the Clean Trucks Program.

The program banned virtually all Class 8 trucks that did not meet 2007 emissions standards earlier this year. The port says that since then, some trucking companies have begun using older Class 7 models to move lighter loads like empty containers.

The board also authorized staff to find a way to penalize trucking companies that employ drayoffs, or switch cargo from a Clean Trucks Program-compliant truck to an older noncompliant truck once the vehicle is outside a cargo terminal.