United States Air and Radiation EPA420-F-97-048
Environmental Protection December 1997
Agency
Office of Mobile Sources
&EPA Regulatory
Announcement
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.
History of Rulemaking
The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments mandated EPA to establish emis-
sion 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 locomo-
tives 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.
I Printed on Recycled Paper
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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 rail-
roads, 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 be-
cause 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.
Emission Three separate sets of emission standards have been adopted, with
Standards 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 locomo-
tives, and locomotives originally manufactured before 1973 do not
contribute significantly to the emissions problem, and thus, are not
included in this rulemaking.
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Production
Line
Testing
In-Use
Compliance
Program
Exhaust Emission Standards for Locomotives
Tier and duty-cycle
Tier 0 line-haul duty -cycle
Tier 0 switch duty-cycle
Tier 1 line-haul duty-cycle
Tier 1 switch duty-cycle
Tier 2 line-haul duty -cycle
Tier 2 switch duty-cycle
Gaseous and Particulate Emissions (g/bhp-hr)
HC1
1.00
2.10
0.55
1.20
0.30
0.60
CO
5.0
8.0
2.2
2.5
1.5
2.4
NOx
9.5
14.0
7.4
11.0
5.5
8.1
PM
0.60
0.72
0.45
0.54
0.20
0.24
1. HC standards are in the form of THC for diesel, bio-diesel, or any combina-
tion of fuels with diesel as the primary fuel; NMHC for natural gas, or any com-
bination 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.
Smoke Standards for Locomotives (Percent Opacity - Normalized)
Tier 0
Tier 1
Tier 2
Steady- state
30
25
20
30-sec peak
40
40
40
3-sec peak
50
50
50
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 manufac-
ture or remanufacture is completed. The PLT program for newly manu-
factured 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
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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.
Emissions EPA has adopted averaging, banking and trading (ABT) provisions to
Averaging allow manufacturers and remanufacturers the flexibility to meet overall
Provisions 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.
Preemption 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 signifi-
cant 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 head-
aches, eye and nasal irritation, chest pain, and lung inflammation. Envi-
ronmental impacts of PM include reduced visibility and deterioration of
buildings.
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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. APM 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 approxi-
mately $70,000 for the Tier 0 standards, $186,000 for the Tier 1 stan-
dards 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 elec-
tronically 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
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