VANCOUVER, B.C. – The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority said environmental requirements for container trucks serving the Port of Vancouver will have an immediate impact on air quality and public health in B.C.’s Lower Mainland.

Starting Aug. 1, the roughly 1,750 trucks registered in the authority’s truck licensing system are required to have either a diesel oxidation catalyst or diesel particulate filter installed on vehicles with 2006 model engines or older, or access to port facilities will be denied. So far, around 100 trucks have been refused access to the port.

Trucking companies and independent owner-operators must provide verification of their truck engine age or proof that the retrofits have been installed on older models.

“The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has a number of programs to reduce emissions and improve regional air quality,” said Peter Xotta, vice-president, planning and operations at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. “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 port authority said trucks with engines built since 2007 with diesel particulate filters produce 90% less diesel particulate matter than older engines, while those built in 2010 onwards are known to produce 20 times less nitrogen oxide.

In 2008, the Port of Vancouver was the first port in Canada to implement such environmental requirements on container trucks, which was part of the provincial and federal governments 14-point Joint Action Plan in 2014 to create what the authority called a more stable trucking industry.