United States	Press Office (A-107)
Environmental Protection	Washington DC 20460
Agency
<&EPA Environmental
News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Rose	(703) 557-7666
THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 1980 Sibbison (202) 755-0344
EPA SETS	The Environmental Protection Agency has established
LIMITS FOR
RAIL YARD	a new regulation to control noise from some of the
VEHICLES,
EQUIPMENT	vehicles and equipment in the nation's approximately
4,000 railroad yards.
The regulation sets limits on yard noise from switcher
locomotives, locomotive testing equipment, track
brakes (called retarders) and car coupling operations.
In addition, the regulation makes minor revisions to
standards established by EPA in 1975 putting ceilings
on noise from locomotives and railroad cars traveling
around the country.
By EPA estimate, between 6.5 and 10 million people in
the United States are exposed to rail yard noise levels
in excess of amounts considered to be protective of
public health and welfare. EPA said the new regulation
will provide a 10 to 15 percent reduction in noise
impact on these people.
EPA Administrator Douglas M. Costle said the regulation,
written under Section 17 of the Noise Control Act, is
the first of two regulatory actions the Agency will
take to comply with a court order to revise its inter-
state rail carrier noise regulation.
The second action will be the issuance early next year
of a standard for the collective noise coming from
rail yards.
Total cost to the industry to comply with this final
regulation is estimated to be approximately $24 million
on an annualized basis.
(more)
R-6

-------
-2-
The law which required these regulations, Section 17 of the
Noise Control Act, has proven controversial, because it
prevents states and localities from developing controls more
stringent than those established by EPA.
Because of this, it was the Agency's original intention to
limit the application of the law only to locomotives and
rail cars so that states and localities could retain some
measure of control over railroad noise in their jurisdictions.
Under this approach, the federal government would have
focused on equipment which moved from place to place, while
local authorities would have focused on fixed equipment and
facilities.
However, a suit brought by the Association of American
Railroads resulted Ih a U.S. Court of Appeals decision that
EPA must broaden the scope of its regulations. The regulation
announced today is the result of EPA's compliance with that
court decision. State and local governments wishing to
control noise from sources controlled by this regulation
will be able only to adopt standards identical to EPA's.
Once EPA promulgates the final rail yard collective noise
standard, and it takes effect, there will be very few sources
which can be controlled independently by local jurisdictions.
The Agency feels that railroad noise is a serious problem
for communities across the country. However, EPA's standards
must be uniformly applied rather than tailored to specific
sites, and therefore are based on "average" rail yard noise
situations. Some communities may not find the regulations
as stringent as they feel are necessary to protect people in
their localities.
The noise reduction standards in the new regulation — all
effective January 15, 1984 — are as follows:
Hump yard retarders — Retarders are brakes in the tracks of
yards used to slow railroad cars coasting down a slope — or
"hump." They make a loud screech by causing a clamping
action on the railcar's wheels. These must be quieted so
that their average noise level, perceived at the receiving
property, is 83 decibels. Receiving property is land adjacent
to rail yards committed to residential and commercial land
uses. A technology available to meet this standard is the
use of absorptive and reflective barrier walls.
Car coupling operations — The noise from this activity must
be limited to an average sound level of 92 decibels, as
measured at the receiving property. The standard can be met
by restricting car coupling speeds to eight miles per hour
or less.
Switcher locomotives — No action need be taken to quiet
these locomotives in yards where the noise level at the
receiving property is comparatively low — specifically,
less than 65 decibels. At yards where the receiving property
(more)
R-6

-------
-3-
level exceeds 65 decibels, the noise of switcher locomotives
manufactured before December 31, 1979, is limited to a
maximum level of 90 decibels measured at 30 meters (100
feet) while moving. For stationary locomotives, the standard
is 70 decibels at idle, and 87 decibels at all other throttle
settings, both measured at 30 meters. It will ordinarily be
necessary to silence the exhaust on these locomotives to
meet the standard.
Locomotive load cell test stands — Load cells are testing
devices to simulate for stationary locomotives the load they
would experience pulling a train. These facilities frequently
operate continuously at a maximum locomotive throttle setting
for up to 48 hours on one load test. All of these tests
stands which cause sound levels in excess of 65 decibels at
the receiving property must be limited to 78 decibels,
measured at 30 meters. One technology available to meet
this standard is the use of absorptive barrier walls.
The final EPA source-specific rail yard regulation was
published in the Federal Register Friday, January 4, 1980.
# # #
R-6

-------