CSLRA

This story was published in the January 15, 2025 issue of Railway Age.  Below is a brief summary of the article — click here for the full story and links to additional information.

California has withdrawn its pending waiver and authorization requests that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not yet acted on. In a win for railroads, this includes the In-Use Locomotive Regulation.

The In-Use Locomotive Regulation that had been up for EPA review would have banned any locomotive that is 23 years or older from operating in California starting in 2030 and required that new locomotives only operate in the state if they are “zero-emissions locomotives,” beginning in 2030 for switcher, industrial and passenger locomotives and 2035 for line haul locomotives.

“While we are disappointed that the U.S. EPA was unable to act on all the requests in time, the withdrawal is an important step, given the uncertainty presented by the incoming Administration that previously attacked California’s programs to protect public health and the climate and has said will continue to oppose those programs,” California Air Resources Board (CARB) Chair Liane M. Randolph said in a statement issued to Railway Age on Jan. 14. “CARB is assessing its option to continue its progress as part of its commitment to move forward the important work of improving the state’s air quality and reducing harmful pollutants that contribute to poor health outcomes and worsen climate change. The waivers and authorizations recently approved [including, in part, the Commercial Harbor Craft Rule], along with other existing programs, will advance essential emissions reductions in key sectors as we assess next steps. It’s clear that the public health, air quality and climate challenges that California faces require urgent action. We are ready and committed to continuing the important work of building a clean air future.”

This story was published in the Daily Breeze on August 9, 2024. Below is a summary of the article — click here for the full story at the Daily Breeze.  If you get restricted by a paywall, a copy of the full story is included here as a PDF.

Freight rail yards in Southern California will have to add clean-air technology under a new rule from a pollution-fighting agency.  The South Coast Air Quality Management District board has approved the Freight Rail Yards Indirect Source Rule, which is expected to remove 10 1/2 tons a day of toxic nitrogen oxide emissions from the air between 2027 and 2050.

“While there is no single rule or regulation that can achieve federal air quality standards on its own, today’s adoption is a big step in the right direction,” board chairperson and former state Sen. Vanessa Delgado said in a news release of the Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 vote.

A railroad industry trade group opposes the rule, saying it’s superseded by federal law and will interfere with rail operations.  The rule will take effect if and when the federal Environmental Protection Agency approves it, along with a California Air Resources Board rule applying to locomotives and drayage truck fleets.

In a Tuesday, July 30, 2024 letter to the air district, the Association of American Railroads wrote that, while the trade group shares the district’s goal of slashing air pollution, the rail yards rule is flawed and “unfeasible and unworkable.”  Freight trains are more fuel efficient and emit less pollution than trucks, and while rail yards are already using zero-emission equipment, zero-emission locomotives are not yet commercially viable.  The federal government, not the states, oversees the railroad industry, and allowing the new rule to take effect would create a burdensome, state-by-state patchwork of regulations, the association said.