NJBIA and numerous business groups are urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reject a request from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that would effectively mandate railroads nationwide to purchase zero-emission locomotives.
Ray Cantor, NJBIA Deputy Chief Government Affairs Officer, emphasized that although CARB’s waiver authorization request is specific to California, its impact would be felt nationwide because 70% of the national locomotive fleet operates in California at some point.
“Granting this authorization would disrupt national supply chains, hurt the U.S. economy, drive up costs for consumers, potentially put railroads out of business and divert millions of tons of freight from railroads to trucks that are more carbon-intensive,” Cantor said.
In a letter sent Tuesday to New Jersey Congressman Rob Menendez, who serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Cantor reiterated points made by NJBIA and hundreds of other business organizations to the EPA in April. He urged Menendez to join these groups in opposing CARB’s authorization request and to encourage the EPA to do likewise.
“The world is so interconnected now, especially here in New Jersey, home of the East Coast’s largest port,” Cantor wrote. “This waiver suggests a mandate for railroads to operate zero-emission locomotives in California as early as 2030, ban older locomotives despite their remaining lifespan, establish spending accounts amounting to as much as $800 million per year per railroad and likely put some smaller short line railroads out of business.”
Cantor acknowledged the importance of decarbonization but cautioned against ignoring costs associated with accelerated zero-emission mandates.
“This time frame is unreasonable since the technology does not yet exist commercially and if not rolled out in a strategic and practical manner it could have long-term consequences for the logistics system and the economy,” he wrote. “Railroads are already a very environmentally friendly mode of surface transportation accounting for less than 2% of transportation sector greenhouse gas emissions.”
Cantor further noted that while New Jersey has its own aggressive climate goals, overhauling the entire freight rail system with currently unavailable technology is problematic.
“All the freight that could no longer be moved by rail would then travel by truck causing more damage to publicly funded roads and bridges,” he said.
To read NJBIA's letter to Congressman Menendez (D-NJ), click here.
To read the letter sent by NJBIA and other business groups across the nation to EPA Administrator Michael Regan in April, click here.
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