New Legislation Introduced to Stop Calif. Locomotive Regulations
The legislation revises Section 209 of the Clean Air Act to close a loophole, which allows the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to request waivers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which would require interstate trains to abide by environmental standards stricter than those of the federal government.
The LOCOMOTIVES Act is endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Association of American Railroads (AAR), the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRA), the North American Millers Association (NAMA), the Supply Chain Federation, and the National Grain and Feed Association.
In recent years, state regulators have sought waivers to the federal law in order to impose “burdensome, and oftentimes impracticable,” regulations on operations related to interstate commerce, according to the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA).
In 2023, CARB requested a waiver for its “In-Use Locomotive Regulation” from the EPA, which would prohibit trains older than 23 years old from operating in the state unless they operate on a zero emissions configuration. The waiver was withdrawn last year; however, California is able to resubmit a similar request at any time. If California’s waiver request was granted, effectively two-thirds of all currently operating trains could not cross into the state, leaving them unable to access two of the largest ports in the country. The LOCOMOTIVES Act would prohibit these types of harmful requests, IANA noted.
“Intermodal freight transportation requires that public and private entities work in concert to move goods from origin to destination, utilizing the best attributes of rail, road, and water transport,” said IANA President and CEO Anne Reinke. “These movements cross jurisdictional boundaries and require regulatory harmonization to deliver goods safely, efficiently, and cost-effectively. We applaud Congressman John Moolenaar for introducing legislation that would eliminate the possibility of rail-related patchwork regulations under the Clean Air Act that threaten interstate commerce.”
“We applaud Congressman Moolenaar’s leadership in introducing legislation that would prevent the possibility of unworkable and infeasible state regulation of locomotives involved in interstate commerce. This bill would close a Clean Air Act loophole that could be used by a state to circumvent federal regulation of locomotives and create a de facto national rule that would risk the viability of small business freight railroads,” said ASLRA President Chuck Baker.
“Railroads remain the most fuel-efficient way to move goods over land and continue to deliver reliably for the nation’s businesses and communities,” said AAR President and CEO Ian Jefferies. “Currently, there are no commercially viable zero-emissions locomotives available—despite claims made by the California Air Resources Board in its now-abandoned in-use locomotive rule. As the industry pursues scalable, alternative solutions, Rep. Moolenaar’s legislation would provide much-needed regulatory certainty and prevent an impractical and infeasible state mandate from disrupting the entire nation’s supply chain.”
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