Backing shipping lines and terminal operators, the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles is asking state and regional regulators to re-examine business and environmental regulations they claimed are costing West Coast ports container volume. They are not seeking to roll back the nation’s strictest environmental regulations, but they are asking regulators to balance clean-air goals and their impact on the cost of moving cargo through West Coast ports. The ports intend to do their part by reducing cargo-handling costs through efficiency measures. Ports will also push for a more equitable formula for distribution of the revenues generated by the harbor maintenance tax on imports. The tax is structured to favor smaller ports with large dredging needs.
