Suit Keeps Mexican Border Closed, But Safety System Is In Place
By Oliver B. Patton, Washington Editor
The legal block against long-haul trucking across the Mexican border may take as long as two years to resolve, but the system to ensure the safety of Mexican trucks is ready and waiting.
The Inspector General of the Department of Transportation reports that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has "substantially completed" preparations for the border opening.
Still, cross-border trucking will have to wait until a suit brought by opponents of the opening is concluded. In the suit, an alliance composed of the Teamsters union, environmental and safety advocacy groups and the California Trucking Assn. claimed that FMCSA did not complete the required environmental analysis in its rules permitting entry by Mexican trucking companies. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit agreed with the alliance, in effect forcing FMCSA to keep the border closed until the environmental question is answered.
DOT asked the court to review that decision, but the court declined to do so. DOT now is considering seeking Supreme Court review of the lower court's decision. Meanwhile, FMCSA has begun preparing the environmental reviews - a process that could take two years or more to complete, according to the IG's report.
"FMCSA is ready now and will be ready whenever the border opens," said agency spokesman David Longo.
Meanwhile, FMCSA has just about finished the job of setting up a safety inspection program for the border, the IG said.
According to the report, the agency has 271 of the necessary 274 enforcement officials in place, and has adequate facilities at 24 of 25 border crossings. Inspectors at 22 crossings, and inspectors in mobile units, have electronic access to U.S. and Mexican databases to verify information about license places and insurance. And the agency has a system in place to monitor Mexican carrier's safety performance.
Washington Report continued...
