(The following article by Felix Sanchez was posted on the Long Beach Press-Telegram website on March 8.)
LOS ANGELES — Two railroads filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday to block new rules adopted in February by the South Coast Air Quality Management District to help reduce polluting fumes and emissions from idling trains.
Union Pacific Railroad Co., BNSF Railway Co. and the Association of American Railroads argue they already have reached an agreement for statewide pollution controls with the California Air Resources Board. The district’s new regulations, they said, amount to local interference with federally controlled rail operations and violate the Federal Clean Air Act.
The South Coast AQMD’s governing board adopted the latest set of strict controls on locomotive idling on Feb. 3 after determining that a memo of understanding between the air resources board and BNSF and Union Pacific railroads were not stringent enough.
The AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The Air Resources Board works with the public, business sector and local government to find cost-effective ways to reduce air pollution.
The AQMD rules limit idling at freight yards in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties to no more than 30 minutes, in most cases, and subject railroads to $75,000 fines per day for violations.
The rules, the first of which were to go into effect in April, also require extensive record keeping and weekly reporting.
The railroads argue that in June 2005 they voluntarily agreed to similar rules with the air resources board that apply to all of California.
The AQMD adopted the new rules, however, knowing they would be subject to legal challenge, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against the agency and its governing board.
Attorneys are asking that the AQMD’s new rules be ruled invalid and that they violate federal law by trying to regulate freight railroads. The railroads are seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction from their enforcement.
Richard Russack, vice president of corporate relations with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., said allowing AQMD’s rules would be in direct conflict with federal law. It would set a precedent and open the door to railroads being subject to a “patchwork of regulations” by local agencies throughout California, Russack said.
William A. Burke, AQMD’s governing board chairman, said the pollution monitoring agency will vigorously defend its adopted rules.
“The railroads are responsible for a huge amount of air pollution, and unlike oil refineries, power plants and even the auto industry, they have done relatively little compared to other sources to reduce their emissions,” Burke said.
Board leadership, including Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, in March said that the AQMD wanted the stricter rules because it and neighborhoods get more severely impacted from pollution from trains that originate out of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.
More than 300 complaints have been received about smoke and odor from the trains, according to the AQMD. Railroads affected by the rules include Union Pacific, BNSF, Los Angeles Junction Railway and Pacific Harbor Line.
Unlike the voluntary agreement, AQMD’s regulations are legally enforceable and subject the railroads to strict penalties if they do not comply with the rules, Burke said.
“We have a record of investments to meet emission standards,” Russack said, including plans to replace existing locomotives with new, cleaner-burning engines.