| May 18, 2007 South Coast
Air Quality Management District officials decided today to appeal last
month’s federal court ruling striking down three AQMD rules aimed at
reducing toxic diesel emissions from idling locomotives.
“Southland residents are still being subjected to toxic diesel pollution
from unnecessary locomotive idling,” said William Burke, Ed.D., AQMD
Governing Board Chairman, noting that just this week Lakewood residents
reported a locomotive idling in their neighborhood for more than 20 hours.
“We believe we have the authority to protect public health with our
railroad rules, and we look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate this
to the appeals court,” he said.
At a special meeting today, AQMD’s Governing Board voted unanimously to
appeal the court decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
in San Francisco.
On April 30, U.S. District Court Judge John F. Walter in Los Angeles
struck down three AQMD rules intended to curtail unnecessary locomotive
idling and to assess community health risk from rail yard emissions.
The decision resulted from a lawsuit (#CV06-1416) filed by Union Pacific
Railroad Co., BNSF Railway Co. and the American Association of Railroads
against AQMD in March 2006.
While railroad attorneys have argued that AQMD’s railroad rules are
preempted by federal law, AQMD attorneys and outside legal experts have
maintained that the agency’s regulations are within its legal authority
under state law, and are not preempted by federal law because they do not
interfere with rail operations.
Locomotives are a significant source of air pollution in the Southland,
responsible for more than 32 tons per day of smog- and particulate-forming
nitrogen oxides. That is equivalent to the emissions from about 1.4 million
cars, pickups and SUVs. Locomotive pollution in the region also exceeds the
combined emissions from the Southland’s 350 largest facilities. In
addition, idling locomotives spew toxic diesel soot into neighborhoods,
backyards and school yards, posing a health risk to residents.
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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