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 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 a rule 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.
As of November 2023, South Coast AQMD has discontinued efforts of pursuing a Memorandum of Understanding with Class I railroads and pivoted back to rulemaking for a proposed rule to address emissions from new and existing rail yards.”
Current Activities
Resources
Staff Info:
Shawn Wang Elaine Shen
909-396-3319 909-396-2715
swang@aqmd.gov eshen@aqmd.gov