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Regulatory

Announcement

 Printed on Recycled Paper

United States

Environmental Protection

Agency

Air and Radiation EPA420-F-97-048

December 1997

Office of Mobile Sources

History of Rulemaking

The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments mandated EPA to establish emission standards for a variety of previously unregulated nonroad mobile

sources. Included in those requirements was a specific mandate to

regulate the emissions from locomotives. Current unregulated locomotives are estimated to contribute almost 5 percent of the total nationwide

emissions of NOx, which is more than 10 percent of the nationwide

mobile source NOx emissions. This makes locomotives one of the

largest remaining unregulated sources of NOx emissions. Thus, this

rulemaking will result in emissions reductions that states need to comply

with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone

and PM.

Final Emissions Standards for

Locomotives

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing emission

standards for oxides of nitrogen (NOx), hydrocarbons (HC), carbon

monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM) and smoke for newly

manufactured and remanufactured diesel-powered locomotives and

locomotive engines, which have previously been unregulated. The new

standards will achieve approximately a two-third reduction in NOx

emissions, which is equivalent to removing over thirty million

passenger cars from the road. In addition, HC and PM emissions will

be reduced by 50 percent.
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Overview of Rulemaking

Since locomotive emissions have not been regulated before, it was

necessary for EPA to create a comprehensive program, including not

only emission standards, but also test procedures and a full compliance

program. This rulemaking, which takes effect in 2000, will affect railroads, locomotive manufacturers, and locomotive remanufacturers.

In general terms, the overall program is similar to previously established

programs for heavy-duty highway engines and other nonroad engines.

One unique feature included for locomotives, however, is the regulation

of the engine remanufacturing process, including the remanufacture of

locomotives originally manufactured prior to the effective date of this

rulemaking. Regulation of the remanufacturing process is critical because locomotives are generally remanufactured 5 to 10 times during

their total service lives (typically 40 years or more). Standards that only

applied to locomotives originally manufactured after the effective date of

the rule would not achieve significant emissions reductions in the near

term, as those locomotives slowly replaced the existing fleet.

Three separate sets of emission standards have been adopted, with

applicability of the standards dependent on the date a locomotive is first

manufactured. The first set of standards (Tier 0) apply to locomotives

and locomotive engines originally manufactured from 1973 through

2001, any time they are manufactured or remanufactured. The second set

of standards (Tier 1) apply to locomotives and locomotive engines

originally manufactured from 2002 through 2004. These locomotives and

locomotive engines will be required to meet the Tier 1 standards at the

time of original manufacture and at each subsequent remanufacture. The

final set of standards (Tier 2) apply to locomotives and locomotive

engines originally manufactured in 2005 and later. Tier 2 locomotives

and locomotive engines will be required to meet the applicable standards

at the time of original manufacture and at each subsequent

remanufacture. Electric locomotives, historic steam-powered locomotives, and locomotives originally manufactured before 1973 do not

contribute significantly to the emissions problem, and thus, are not

included in this rulemaking.

Emission

Standards
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1. HC standards are in the form of THC for diesel, bio-diesel, or any combination of fuels with diesel as the primary fuel; NMHC for natural gas, or any combination of fuels where natural gas is the primary fuel; and THCE for alcohol, or

any combination of fuels where alcohol is the primary fuel.

In addition to the exhaust emission standards, this final rule establishes

smoke opacity standards for all locomotives and locomotive engines.

EPA has adopted a production line testing (PLT) program that requires

manufacturers and, in some cases, remanufacturers of locomotives to

perform production line testing of newly manufactured and

remanufactured locomotives as they leave the point where the manufacture or remanufacture is completed. The PLT program for newly manufactured units is based on actual testing, while the PLT program for

remanufactured units is based on an audit of the remanufacture kit’s

installation, with EPA having the ability to require testing if in-use data

indicates a possible problem with production.

A critical element in the success of this locomotive program is ensuring

that manufacturers and remanufacturers produce locomotives that

continue to meet emission standards beyond certification and production

stages, during actual operation and use. EPA is adopting an in-use

compliance program with two distinct components. The first program

Production

Line

Testing

In-Use

Compliance

Program

Exhaust Emission Standards for Locomotives

Tier and duty-cycle

Gaseous and Particulate Emissions (g/bhp-hr)

HC1 C x O N M O P

T 0 ier 0 line-haul duty-cycle 1 0 .0 5 5 . 9 0 . 0.6

T 0 ier 0 switch duty-cycle 2 0 .1 8 0 . 1 2 4. 0.7

T 5 ier 1 line-haul duty-cycle 0 2 .5 2 4 . 7 5 . 0.4

T 0 ier 1 switch duty-cycle 1 5 .2 2 0 . 1 4 1. 0.5

T 0 ier 2 line-haul duty-cycle 0 5 .3 1 5 . 5 0 . 0.2

T 0 ier 2 switch duty-cycle 0 4 .6 2 1 . 8 4 . 0.2

Smoke Standards for Locomotives (Percent Opacity - Normalized)

S k teady-state 3 k 0-sec pea 3-sec pea

T 0 ier 0 3 04 05

T 5 ier 1 2 04 05

T 0 ier 2 2 04 05
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requires the manufacturers and remanufacturers to test representative

locomotives from all engine families using the Federal Test Procedure

(FTP). This testing will occur between 50 and 75 percent of useful life.

Actual repair in the event of a determination of noncompliance or recall

action, however, will apply to all locomotives of that family, regardless

of whether the locomotives have exceeded their useful lives. Second,

EPA is requiring that Class I railroads annually test a sample of their

locomotives which have met or exceeded their useful lives, also using

the FTP.

EPA has adopted averaging, banking and trading (ABT) provisions to

allow manufacturers and remanufacturers the flexibility to meet overall

emissions goals at the lowest cost, while allowing EPA to set emissions

standards at levels more stringent than they would be if each and every

engine family had to comply with the standards. ABT is also designed to

encourage early introduction of cleaner engines, which will secure

emissions benefits earlier than would otherwise be the case.

EPA has adopted regulations that will codify and clarify Clean Air Act

preemption of certain state and local requirements relating to the control

of emissions from new locomotives and new locomotive engines. This

preemption was included in the Clean Air Act because of the inherent

interstate nature of the railroad industry. Moreover, EPA believes that a

strong federal program that addresses manufacturing, remanufacturing

and in-use compliance is the best way to achieve the necessary emissions

reductions.

Health and Environmental Benefits

Emissions from diesel-powered locomotives, such as NOx, HC, and PM,

contribute to air pollution in both urban and rural areas, and have significant health and environmental effects. NOx is a major component of

smog and acid rain. NOx emissions combine with HC in the atmosphere

to form ground-level ozone, the primary constituent of smog. Ozone is a

highly reactive pollutant that damages lung tissue, causes congestion,

and reduces vital lung capacity, in addition to damaging vegetation. Acid

rain damages buildings and crops, and degrades lakes and streams. NOx

also contributes to the formation of secondary PM, which causes headaches, eye and nasal irritation, chest pain, and lung inflammation. Environmental impacts of PM include reduced visibility and deterioration of

buildings.

Emissions

Averaging

Provisions

Preemption
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The primary focus of this rulemaking is on reducing NOx and PM

emissions, although there are also reductions in HC and CO. NOx

emissions from locomotives will be reduced by 60 percent by 2040,

compared to 1995 baseline levels. This would be almost 650,000 metric

tons per year. Most of these reductions will come early in the program

(e.g., 41 percent reduction by 2010), due to the standards that apply to

pre-2000 locomotives when they are remanufactured. In addition to the

NOx benefits, the final rule will provide some PM benefits through the

Tier 2 standards. A PM reduction of 46 percent is expected by 2040,

compared to 1995 baseline levels. This reduction is over 12,000 metric

tons per year, and amounts to over one percent of national PM emissions

from mobile sources.

Flexibility For Industry

The final rule codifies the Clean Air Act’s preemption of state and local

emission requirements, which is intended to prevent inappropriate

burdens on interstate commerce. The flexibility provided by ABT lowers

the costs to manufacturers and makes it easier to meet the technological

challenges posed by the new standards. EPA is also exempting the

smallest railroads from compliance with the Tier 0 standards, with some

restrictions, and is providing a phase-in of the standards for small

manufacturers.

Cost of New Program

EPA estimates that the lifetime cost per locomotive will be approximately $70,000 for the Tier 0 standards, $186,000 for the Tier 1 standards and $252,000 for the Tier 2 standards. Lifetime cost components

consist of initial equipment costs; remanufacturing costs; fuel economy

costs; and certification, production line and in-use testing costs. The

average annual cost of this program is estimated to be $80 million per

year. This would be about 0.2 percent of the total freight revenue for

railroads in 1995. The average cost-effectiveness of the standards is

expected to be about $163 per ton of NOx, PM and HC.
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For More Information

The final rule and other documents on locomotives are available electronically from the EPA Internet server at:

http://www.epa.gov/OMSWWW/locomotv.htm

Document information is also available by contacting Russ Banush at:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

2565 Plymouth Road

Ann Arbor, MI 48105

(734) 668-4333