New Southern California rule would require dramatic reduction in rail yard pollution

DIAMOND Bar, Calif. — A Southern California regulatory agency on Friday adopted new rules requiring railroads to significantly reduce pollution from rail yards starting in 2027, an action that would require nitrogen oxide emissions to be reduced up to 82% by 2037.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District’s new Freight Rail Yards Indirect Source Rule would require the reductions through the use of cleaner technologies, such as lower-emission locomotives. However, as the Los Angeles Times reports, the rule is contingent on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approval of state regulations for locomotives and trucks. Those rules, which require use of zero-emission locomotives in California by 2035 (2030 for those in switching service), are being challenged in court by the rail industry. The Association of American Railroads and American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association argue the California Air Resources Board is mandating the use of technology that does not yet exist commercially [see “Railroads file suit …,” Trains News Wire, June 16, 2023].

The South Coast AQMD says rail yards contribute about 9% of the smog-forming emissions in the Los Angeles area. The rule, which the agency says was developed through seven years of public outreach, would cover about 25 facilities in the South Coast AQMD’s jurisdiction. It does not cover yards at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

“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,” Vanessa Delgado, chair of the agency’s governing board, said in a press release. “There are so many communities, parks, and schools that are surrounded and affected by sources associated with rail yards that will directly benefit from today’s action. We will continue to reduce emissions where we are able because that is what our communities deserve.”

According to the Times, the district says about 70% of all yard pollution comes from trains, and those emissions have remained largely unchanged because railroads have not been purchasing new locomotives meeting stricter emission rules.