By Tom Steever

California’s emissions regulations are causing uncertainty for freight rail operations in the Golden State. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) wants a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to enforce state regulations that would have a big impact on rail companies doing business in California. Railroad company officials say that CARB should consider biobased fuels in its rulemaking to reduce pollution from locomotives. 

BNSF, the nation’s largest freight hauler, is especially concerned about two components of the rule, according to Allen Doyel, general counsel for BNSF. One calls for a spending account obligation funded by rail companies operating in California. The money in each spending account, based on the number of hours a train engine operates in the state, would be used to update locomotive equipment.  

Allen Doyel, general counsel for BNSF

“In particular, CARB wants it to be spent on newer locomotives, preferably zero-emissions [electric] locomotives, which…are just decades away from being feasible,” said Doyel. That spending obligation, he added, could reach $800 million annually for BNSF alone.  
 
Another facet of the rule troubling for BNSF, effective in 2030, caps the useful life of a locomotive at 23 years.  
 
“About 65%, or two-thirds of the national class I locomotive fleet, would not be able to enter the state of California by the year 2030,” said Doyel, referring to the nation’s six largest freight rail companies. “That is such a profound impact to the national fleet that there’s just simply no way to comply in the timeframe that CARB has laid out." 
 
BNSF partners with U.S. soybean growers by providing transportation of soybeans, as well as by using soy-based fuels as a viable pathway to meaningful emissions reductions, Doyel said.
 
“Renewable fuels such as biodiesel and renewable diesel are going to be part of the mix for a long time,” he said, “certainly through 2050.” 
 
The effect of CARB’s emissions rule, should it move forward, is added costs for moving freight in California via rail, and that could result in a shift to more goods moving in trucks, according to Lena Kent, director of public affairs at BNSF, “and that certainly contributes to some of the highway congestion, wear and tear on the roads and increased emissions,” she added. 
 
Per engine manufacturer’s specifications, BNSF is currently able to use 5% biodiesel and 30% renewable diesel, according to Doyel. With further testing during the next year, he said the company hopes to “get the manufacturers comfortable” with using up to 20% biodiesel and 95% renewable diesel. 
 
Pointing out railroads’ fuel efficiency, Lena Kent said that trains move a ton of freight nearly 500 miles on a single gallon of diesel fuel, adding that rail is the most environmentally friendly way to move goods over land. 

“We play a vital role in moving our nation’s goods, and we would like to continue to play that important role,” said Kent. 
 
Biodiesel and renewable diesel are critical to BNSF being able to meet emissions reduction targets, said Doyle.

“It’s unfortunate,” he said, “that CARB has not considered the availability and the use of these fuels as a way to reduce emissions today.”