Senators call on EPA to stop California's zero-emissions locomotive rule

Twelve U.S. senators have written to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan urging the agency to fully consider the impact of approving the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) request for a waiver for its In-Use Locomotive Regulation.

Designed to reduce emissions in the rail industry, the regulation would "impose significant operational and financial burdens" on Class Is and short lines operating in California, states the letter, which is posted on the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association's website.

In order for the regulation to take effect, the EPA must grant a waiver from the federal Clean Air Act.

If implemented, the regulation would prohibit the operation of locomotives in California that are more than 23 years older than their original manufacture date unless they operate in a zero-emissions configuration, a technology not commercially available today, the senators wrote.

The regulation also calls on railroads to deposit funds into spending accounts to be used to purchase new zero-emissions locomotives or invest in demonstration projects associated with zero-emissions locomotives.

"The spending account provision of the regulation would result in onerous financial constraints on railroads in California, with some estimates suggesting that the two Class I railroads with operations in California would each have to deposit approximately $800 million annually into such accounts," the letter states.

The rule would "jeopardize the the interoperability of the national network" and "threaten the overall health of the supply chain," according to the letter.

ASLRRA officials have said they oppose the regulation and support the senators' letter to the EPA.

"Their letter conveys a fundamental message to EPA: The federal government must stop California’s misguided measure in its tracks," said ASLRRA President Chuck Baker in a press release.

The Association of American Railroads also has asked lawmakers to call on the EPA to prevent CARB from enforcing the regulation.