Please share this information with truckers.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has committed an additional $1.2 million to the $9 million the agency expects to receive in federal grant funding to assist its trucking partners serving the Port of New York and New Jersey. Specifically, the funding will aid truckers who operate vehicles with model year 1994 and 1995 engines to buy newer, more environmentally-friendly vehicles.

The combined $10.2 million from the agency’s Regional Truck Replacement Program (RTRP) will provide grants to cover a portion of the cost to replace a truck. The program’s goal is to replace approximately 400 trucks with model year 1994 and 1995 engines that now call on the port. The 2015 RTRP will accept grant funding applications on a first-come-first-served basis only for trucks with 1994 and 1995 engine model years.

Truckers should be aware that the Port Authority has also proposed a modification to the rules and regulations for operating at its marine terminals (tariff) to deny access to trucks with model year 1994 and 1995 engines effective January 1, 2018. The agency also proposes to require that, effective March 1, 2016, new trucks seeking to serve the port terminals must be equipped with a 2007 or newer model year engine. These proposed changes to the tariff will be posted on the Port Authority website and available for comment to the Port Authority during a 30-day period beginning in February 2016.

The Port Authority maintains a goal that all trucks serving its marine terminals be equipped with 2007 or newer engines. The agency is working closely with financial institutions to explore whether low-interest loans can be made available to truckers for the replacement, over time, of all remaining trucks serving the port with model year 1996 to 2006 engines.

If these additional funding opportunities become available, the agency will work closely with the trucking community to share that information.

The Port Authority will continue to pursue additional grant funding in support of the Regional Truck Replacement Program and work with its trucking partners to identify viable solutions to reduce unnecessary truck trips and calculate the emission reduction of those eliminated trips through initiatives such as a Street Turn System.