While we are pleased to have already reduced diesel emissions at the rail yards, it’s not enough. Increased leadership from US EPA and the railroads, along with funding to address California’s needs, would signal a clean-air commitment that must be made to protect those who live and work near rail yards.

—ARB Chairman Mary Nichols

In response to a Board directive in April 2008, ARB staff developed a plan to further reduce emissions from locomotives and railyards. The emission reductions were to be beyond existing US EPA regulations and ARB regulations and agreements.

Staff began this process by developing a Technical Options Report that evaluated 37 options to further reduce locomotive and railyard emissions. The 37 options were evaluated based on the following criteria: technical feasibility, potential emissions reductions, costs, and cost-effectiveness.

Major findings of the Technical Options Report included:

• Reducing emissions from locomotives is the most cost-effective and expeditious way to reduce railyard emissions and public health risks.

• Technology is commercial or near commercial for reducing emissions from switch and medium horsepower locomotives.

• Technology for reducing emissions from line haul locomotives is under development.

• Other measures may have potential, but are generally not as cost-effective.

Based on the Technical Options Report, staff recommended five locomotive measures as the highest priority options. In addition to these five options, the staff also recommended a number of additional actions that collectively will achieve additional emission reductions from locomotives and railyards, facilitate longer term regulation of locomotives, and improve our understanding of the emissions from locomotives and railyards.

The top set of recommendations call for:

• Replacing existing switch and medium horsepower locomotives with cleaner locomotives (2010-2013);

• Retrofitting switch and medium horsepower locomotive with particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) after-treatment devices (2012-2016); and

• Accelerating the introduction of cleaner new Tier 4 interstate line-haul locomotives to operate in California and other western states (2015-2025).

Implementation dates would be staggered to coincide with the development and commercial production of these advanced technologies. Once all steps are taken, Californians can expect to see a reduction of about 69 tons per day of NO_x (a key ingredient of smog), and a reduction of about three tons per day of toxic diesel soot.

Total cost of those five measures is estimated to be $3.9 billion, with $3 billion of that consumed by the new Tier 4 interstate line haul locomotives.

ARB plans on forming a coalition of stakeholders to seek incentive funding for implementation of the measures. Funding is expected to come from railroads and state and federal governments.

The measures primarily affect freight locomotives operated by Union Pacific and BNSF Railway, although locomotives used in passenger service are also included. Union Pacific operates in 23 states west of Chicago, while BNSF Railway is present in 28.

The US EPA estimates the normal fleet turnover rate for a line-haul locomotive can take 30 years or more. For this reason, ARB staff are proposing accelerated introduction of the cleanest new line-haul locomotives that operate in California and other western states within 10 years.

California leads the nation with the most extensive efforts to reduce locomotive and rail yard emissions. ARB completed 18 major rail yard health risk assessments that showed increased risk for those who live and work near these facilities. Through a combination of state and federal regulations, incentive funding, binding agreements and voluntary actions by the railroad companies, California will see dramatic reductions in their airborne emissions, between 50-80%, depending on the individual rail yard, as early as 2015.

Because of significant mitigation measures put in place over the last two years, risk levels around major rail yards have already been reduced by about 37 percent.

California’s key locomotive and rail yard air pollution control measures and strategies include:

• California’s ultra low sulfur diesel fuel regulation (in effect since 1 January 2007), expected to reduce locomotive emissions by up to 30 tons per year for diesel particulate matter and 300 tons per year for oxides of nitrogen;

• Diesel-fueled heavy-duty drayage truck regulation that applies to all port and intermodal rail yards (approved in December 2007) will reduce diesel particulate matter by about 85% by 2010 and oxides of nitrogen by more than 50 percent by 2014, as compared to the 2007 baseline;

• Heavy-duty diesel new truck regulations adopted by both ARB and US EPA have set emission standards for 2007 and subsequent model year heavy-duty diesel engines which represent a 90 percent emission reduction of both diesel particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen compared to the 2004 model-year emission standards;

• Cargo handling equipment regulation (in effect since 1 January 2007) is expected to reduce diesel particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen by up to 80 percent by 2020;

• Tier 4 off-road diesel-fueled new engine emission standards (adopted in 2004 by both ARB and US EPA) will require an after-treatment-based exhaust standards to achieve over a 90% emission reduction over current levels by 2020;

• Under the California yard locomotive replacement program, UP has deployed 61 gen-set and 10 electric hybrid yard locomotives in Southern California. BNSF has been operating four liquefied natural gas yard locomotives in downtown Los Angeles since the mid-1990s.

Diesel exhaust contains a variety of harmful gases and more than 40 other known cancer-causing substances. In 2000, the ARB established California’s Diesel Risk Reduction Plan, which aims to reduce diesel emissions to 85% below 2000 levels by 2020. Other sources of diesel particulate matter such as big rig trucks, transit buses, trash trucks, cargo-handling equipment and ship auxiliary engines have already been addressed through regulations, along with diesel fuel.

NO_x helps create ground-level ozone, or smog. Smog can damage lungs, cause coughing and chest tightness, and worsen asthma symptoms while also affecting crop yields. Both pollutants are particularly harmful to children, the elderly and those who have preexisting health problems.

Resources

• Recommendations to Implement Further Locomotive and Railyard Emission Reductions

• ARB Staff Presentation