ASLRRA: More Comments on CARB ‘Unworkable’ Regs
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
(Steve Halama, Unsplash)
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) filed two more sets of comments last week in response to the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) second comment period on additional proposed modifications and documents (download below) for the agency’s In-Use Locomotive Regulation.
One set of comments (download below), filed jointly with the Association of American Railroads (AAR), “points out that members of both associations share a desire to improve air quality in California by reducing emissions from rail operations,” ASLRRA said. “However, the requirements proposed by CARB’s second modified rule remain completely unworkable, given that alternative fuel locomotives are not commercially available now nor will they be in the near future. In addition, ASLRRA and AAR argue that CARB’s rule is preempted by federal law.”
ASLRRA filed the second set of comments (download below) jointly with the California Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (CSLRA). “These comments focus on the financial burden CARB’s rule stands to place on the state’s short line railroads,” ASLRRA noted. “The cost of compliance for small railroads will be steep, and there are insufficient public funds to allow these railroads to meet CARB’s requirements. ASLRRA and CSLRA support their argument with an analysis of each of the funding opportunities purported to be available to help short lines meet regulatory obligations.”
