AQMD Calls on Air Resources Board
to Strengthen Railroad Agreement

Dec. 7, 2005

To better protect public health, Southland clean air officials submitted detailed documents this week to the California Air Resources Board calling on the agency to significantly strengthen its controversial agreement with railroads in seven key areas. 

“CARB’s agreement, reached in secret with the railroads and without public input, is rife with ambiguous and weak provisions,” said William A. Burke, Ed.D., Governing Board Chairman of the South Coast Quality Management District.

“This document provides CARB with a roadmap for re-negotiating this agreement to better serve the public.”

In addition, Burke called on CARB officials to include representatives of air agencies and community groups in the renegotiation process.

In June, CARB announced an agreement with Union Pacific Railroad Co. and BNSF Railway Co., the two major freight railroads serving the state, to reduce locomotive emissions.  The agreement was reached behind closed doors without any input from the public or other environmental agencies.

In a letter and attachment sent this week to interim CARB Chairwoman Barbara Riordan, AQMD outlined its specific concerns with CARB’s memorandum of understanding, and also made specific recommendations to correct weaknesses and ambiguities in the agreement.

Following a public hearing on the agreement in October, the CARB Board directed its staff to report back in January 2006 clarifying many ambiguous provisions in the agreement.  AQMD’s letter calls on CARB staff to address AQMD’s concerns before CARB’s January meeting.

AQMD’s comments highlight serious problems and suggested solutions in seven key areas of the agreement:

1. The agreement contains a “poison pill” clause that allows the railroads to abandon their commitments to emission reductions across the entire state if any government agency attempts to enforce any requirement similar to those in the agreement.  CARB’s responses to AQMD’s concerns with the clause are vague and have only added confusion.  For this reason AQMD stands by its request to have this “poison pill” removed from the agreement; 
2. Locomotive idling limitations throughout the agreement are vague, contain loopholes, and are generally unenforceable because they fail to hold railroads to any specific idling requirements.  CARB should strengthen provisions for idling activities, time limits, exempt occurrences and performance standards;
3. The agreement calls for the use of low sulfur diesel fuel but is vague and does not prevent locomotives from refueling with higher-sulfur fuel out of state.  CARB should develop criteria that define the railroads’ obligation to use low-sulfur fuel;
4. The agreement calls for railroads to comply with a visible emissions standard yet fails to define that standard and includes no evaluation criteria to ensure emission reductions occur.  To protect public health, CARB should use the more stringent state standard as a benchmark to measure visible emissions.  In addition, enforceable criteria should be included to gauge emission reductions;
5. Although equipment operating in and around railyards is a significant source of air pollution, the agreement calls on railroads to take only “feasible” measures to minimize emissions and requires no health risk reduction program.  CARB should require railroads to promptly complete health risk assessments and engage in risk reduction programs for railyards just as other industries are required to do so under local air district rules;
6. The agreement calls for health risk assessments at railyards but is ambiguous as to the data necessary to complete these assessments.  CARB should require specific data to ensure health risk assessments are not delayed; and
7. The agreement fails to establish specific criteria to define “feasible” and “feasibly.”  These terms are used throughout the agreement to establish the obligations of the railroads.  CARB should establish specific cost-effectiveness criteria or replace the “feasibility” requirements with mandatory requirements that would strengthen the railroad’s obligations.

To view AQMD's comment letter and 10-page analysis of critical agreement issues, click here. 

AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

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