The Clean Trucks Program at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles has succeeded in getting more than 2,000 dirty rigs off the road in its first year.

The program -- part old truck ban, part new truck subsidies -- has also added more than 5,500 clean trucks, helping the ports cut truck emissions by nearly 70 percent. The Port of Los Angeles predicts it will meet its 2012 goal of reducing truck emissions by 80 percent two to three years ahead of schedule.

When the program went into effect in October 2008, it immediately banned trucks manufactured before 1989, impacting between 1,500 and 2,000 old trucks, or roughly 10 percent of the ports' drayage truck fleet. In February, the ports began charging cargo owners $35 per 20-foot container if it is handled by diesel trucks built before 2007. The money goes into a fund that helps award companies $20,000 for each qualifying newer rig.

"Industry is responding by purchasing clean trucks and taking advantage of our incentive program," Port Executive Director Geraldine Knatz said in a statement last week. "The trucking industry and our terminal operators have especially been instrumental in the success of this program, and the dollars generated in the purchase of all these news trucks are an added investment into the Southern California economy."

Trucks made before 1993 will be banned beginning in January. All trucks built before 1997 will be outlawed in 2012. The Port of Long Beach, however, expects a near-complete conversion to cleaner trucks by January because of the unexpectedly high turnover of trucks. The Port of Los Angeles estimates the program increased truck sales in Southern California by one-third, compared to a 60 percent overall drop in nationwide sales.

Ports, though vital to global commerce, are tremendous producers of pollution. Studies have shown significantly higher rates of illness and respiratory problems in surrounding communities, putting increasing pressure on ports to clean up their acts. Another large port in California, the Port of Oakland, is scheduled to begin banning old dirty trucks this fall, while similar programs are being developed in other parts of the country.

Photo CC-licensed by Flickr user futureatlas.com.