New California Locomotive Emissions Rules

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/railroad ... 55385.html

Railroad industry sues to block new locomotive pollution rules in California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The railroad industry on Friday sued to block new environmental rules in California, arguing they would force the premature retirement of about 25,000 diesel-powered locomotives across the country long before their zero-emission counterparts are ready to take their place.
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In a lawsuit filed in federal court, the industry says the technology for zero-emission locomotives hasn't been sufficiently tested and won't be ready to carry the load of delivering more than 30 million carloads of freight nationwide each year.

The lawsuit asks a judge to declare the California Air Resources Board does not have the authority to issue these rules. The trade groups say that only the federal government can regulate railroads because it is an interconnected industry that crosses state lines. They note that more than 500 companies all share the 180,000 miles (289,682 kilometers) of track across 49 states, Canada and Mexico.
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Earlier in the discussion we noted the San Diego & Arizona Eastern. There does not appear to be much left of this road:

https://youtu.be/xv2yWI0edOs

The Journal reports how all Class I's apparently have come to accept that use of Diesel locomotives has an "expiration date".

With California having enacted an expiration date, other environmentally conscious states will surely follow suit.

Fair Use:

Railroad operators like to say that trains are greener than trucks when it comes to moving goods, pointing out that one railcar can haul three to four times as much as a truck, and one freight train can remove hundreds of trucks from the highways.

Although the freight-rail industry is responsible for less than 2% of transportation-related greenhouse-gas emissions in the U.S., rail carriers—like the rest of the transportation industry—are under pressure to reduce those emissions, much of which are produced by diesel-electric locomotives.

The title of this Journal editorial would lead one to think "It's all about trucking". It's not; It's all about trains:

Fair Use:

California’s climate planners aren’t trying merely to extend their electric-vehicle mandate nationwide. Now they’re moving to banish diesel locomotives across all 50 states. Where’s Amtrak Joe Biden when you need him?

The U.S. House last week held a hearing on the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) plan that would ban locomotives that are 23 years or older from running in the state after 2029, pending approval from the Environmental Protection Agency. Passenger trains would also have to operate in a “zero emission” configuration by 2030 and long-distance freight trains by 2035.

There are at least two biq questions here....

Are CARB's actions extra-territorial and affecting interstate commerce?

If Chevron Deference falls at SCOTUS, is it within the EPA's scope to let a state agency be making decisions that affect interstate commerce?

eolesen wrote: ↑Tue Jun 18, 2024 11:34 pm Are CARB's actions extra-territorial and affecting interstate commerce?

Good point indeed, Mr. Olesen.

Afaik the courts have consistently held that only the Federal government can regulate railroad operations except when safety considerations justify a local override, as when New York City prohibited steam locomotives in Manhattan long ago. Quite a stretch to make that apply here.