Environment: Vancouver (BC)
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Vancouver (BC): Environmental Standards for Port-Bound Container Trucks
Effective August 1, all trucks registered in the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s Truck Licensing System are required to have either a diesel oxidation catalyst or diesel particulate filter installed in order to gain access to port facilities. Approximately 1,750 trucks perform around 30,000 container trips weekly along truck routes in the region. The port authority reports that most trucks in the system are already compliant.
To fulfill the longstanding requirements and maintain port access, trucking companies and independent owner-operators must provide verification of their truck engine age or proof that retrofits have been made to older trucks. Since the August 1 deadline, the port authority has banned approximately 100 trucks in the Truck Licensing System from its facilities.
"The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has a number of programs to reduce emissions and improve regional air quality," said Peter Xotta, the port authority’s vice president, planning and operations. "Modernizing the port’s truck fleet is just one way we are contributing to efforts that address climate change and protect the health of local citizens."
The installation of diesel oxidation catalysts on trucks with 2006 model engines or older will reduce emissions of diesel particulate matter, a known human carcinogen as defined by the World Health Organization, by approximately 20 percent. Truck engines built from 2007 onward with diesel particulate filters produce 90 percent less diesel particulate matter than older engines, while trucks built from 2010 onward are said to produce 20 times less nitrogen oxide, a key component of smog, than older engines.
In 2008, Vancouver began implementing comprehensive environmental requirements to reduce air emissions from container trucks. Since then, the port authority has been communicating, and gradually introducing, increasingly stringent environmental requirements for new and existing container trucks serving the port.
Reform to the Truck Licensing System was one of the items in the 14-point Joint Action Plan, which was implemented by the provincial and federal governments in 2014 to create a more stable trucking industry. These environmental standards are part of that reform. The port authority and the port’s container terminals are finalizing the development of a common reservation system for container trucks. With that, the port authority will have completed its responsibilities in the plan.
The port authority is also addressing emissions from ocean-going vessels, cargo-handling equipment and other non-road diesel equipment, as well as implementing corporate initiatives to reduce emissions from its own activities.
Effective August 1, all trucks registered in the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s Truck Licensing System are required to have either a diesel oxidation catalyst or diesel particulate filter installed in order to gain access to port facilities. Approximately 1,750 trucks perform around 30,000 container trips weekly along truck routes in the region. The port authority reports that most trucks in the system are already compliant.
To fulfill the longstanding requirements and maintain port access, trucking companies and independent owner-operators must provide verification of their truck engine age or proof that retrofits have been made to older trucks. Since the August 1 deadline, the port authority has banned approximately 100 trucks in the Truck Licensing System from its facilities.
"The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has a number of programs to reduce emissions and improve regional air quality," said Peter Xotta, the port authority’s vice president, planning and operations. "Modernizing the port’s truck fleet is just one way we are contributing to efforts that address climate change and protect the health of local citizens."
The installation of diesel oxidation catalysts on trucks with 2006 model engines or older will reduce emissions of diesel particulate matter, a known human carcinogen as defined by the World Health Organization, by approximately 20 percent. Truck engines built from 2007 onward with diesel particulate filters produce 90 percent less diesel particulate matter than older engines, while trucks built from 2010 onward are said to produce 20 times less nitrogen oxide, a key component of smog, than older engines.
In 2008, Vancouver began implementing comprehensive environmental requirements to reduce air emissions from container trucks. Since then, the port authority has been communicating, and gradually introducing, increasingly stringent environmental requirements for new and existing container trucks serving the port.
Reform to the Truck Licensing System was one of the items in the 14-point Joint Action Plan, which was implemented by the provincial and federal governments in 2014 to create a more stable trucking industry. These environmental standards are part of that reform. The port authority and the port’s container terminals are finalizing the development of a common reservation system for container trucks. With that, the port authority will have completed its responsibilities in the plan.
The port authority is also addressing emissions from ocean-going vessels, cargo-handling equipment and other non-road diesel equipment, as well as implementing corporate initiatives to reduce emissions from its own activities.
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