About
Intermodal rail yards are critical components of the goods movement sector. At these facilities, cargo is transferred between trains and another transportation mode such as trucks. In May 2018, the South Coast AQMD Governing Board directed staff to pursue both indirect source rulemaking and voluntary measures to implement the 2016 AQMP Facility-Based Mobile Source Measure MOB-02: Emission Reduction at Rail Yards and Intermodal Facilities. Overall, the focus is on identifying actions to address emissions associated with intermodal rail yards and to minimize public health impacts in surrounding communities.
In 2021, following the announcement of two new intermodal rail yards to be potentially built within the South Coast AQMD jurisdiction, staff began to focus on developing an indirect source rule (ISR) which seeks to address NOx and particulate matter emissions from new intermodal rail yards through at-scale zero-emission infrastructure planning and installation, while continuing to pursue both regulatory and voluntary approaches for existing rail yards. The parallel efforts are reflected in the 2022 AQMP, where MOB-02A is the control measure for new rail yards and MOB-02B for existing rail yards. Currently, staff is also exploring a potential memorandum of understanding (MOU) between South Coast AQMD and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) and Union Pacific (UP) railroads to address railroad emissions.
Current Activities
Resources
Staff Info:
Shawn Wang Elaine Shen
909-396-3319 909-396-2715
swang@aqmd.gov eshen@aqmd.gov