Judge strikes down tough rules on diesel

Southern California air regulators cannot require railroads to shut down idling locomotives or obey other local laws designed to clean up deadly diesel pollution, a federal judge ruled this week.

The decision invalidates action taken last year by the South Coast Air Quality Management District to reduce a major source of air pollution in the Southland. Locomotives are responsible for more than 32 tons per day of pollutants, an amount equal to that produced by 1.4 million cars, according to figures compiled by state and regional agencies.

The state air board estimates that 5,400 premature deaths annually in Southern California can be linked to air pollution, and studies have found that the sooty particulates put out by trains are particularly harmful.

AQMD officials last year passed three regulations designed to cut idling time and measure health risks in neighborhoods near rail yards, asserting their authority to regulate emissions under the federal Clean Air Act and state policing laws.

Two railroads and a trade group filed suit, saying that under special exemptions passed by Congress more than a century ago, they do not have to abide by local laws that could interfere with interstate commerce. Officials at Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and Union Pacific said they are spending billions to replace older, dirtier equipment, and have voluntarily cut idling times.

U.S. District Judge John F. Walter, based in Los Angeles, acknowledged the region’s dismal air quality but nevertheless ruled in favor of the railroads.

“The rules at issue in this case are exactly the type of local regulation that Congress intended to preempt ... in order to prevent a ‘patchwork’ of ... local regulation interfering with interstate commerce,” Walter wrote in an opinion released Tuesday. “The court does not arrive at its decision lightly, and recognizes that there is a serious problem with the air quality problem in the basin which needs to be addressed.”

He urged the two sides to work together on a voluntary basis to reduce pollution.

Unlike the regional air quality board, state air regulators have operated on the assumption that they have no right to govern the railroads.

Instead, state officials have negotiated voluntary pollution reduction agreements. But AQMD officials have said that the voluntary agreements are too weak, and that railroads voluntarily agreed only to measures designed to cut costs or meet federal laws.

AQMD spokesman Sam Atwood said the board would discuss at its Friday meeting whether to appeal the decision. The district has already spent more than $3 million in legal fees on the case.

“We are disappointed that the court did not agree with our legal experts’ opinion that AQMD has the authority to regulate these emissions,” said a statement from Barry Wallerstein, the local district’s executive officer.

Spokesmen for the railroads expressed satisfaction with the victory and said they would continue to replace or retrofit older, dirtier locomotives, use low-sulfur diesel fuel and take other steps to reduce harmful emissions.

They said they hoped to work with the local air district.

“The court has recognized the importance of having consistent nationwide regulation of rail operations. This enables railroads to improve air quality while efficiently moving the goods that propel California’s economy,” said BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent. “The railroads are already the most fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly mode of overland transportation and have been working to reduce emissions to even lower levels.”

Angelo Logan, head of the East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, represents the Bandini neighborhood, which sits between Union Pacific and BNSF rail yards.

“I’m very disappointed,” he said. “The fact is that people are dying in our community from the diesel exhaust from these locomotives and other railroad equipment. The railroads are acting like it’s still the 1800s, not 2007. The value of one human life should supersede interstate commerce.”

Logan said he did not believe the railroads’ reports that they are switching to “environmentally friendly” equipment.

“I can take you to the local neighborhood where locomotives 10-plus years old are spewing out black soot within 20, 30 feet of homes,” he said.

One study near the Roseville rail yard in Central California showed alarming increases in cancer risk for nearby residents. Under their voluntary agreement, the state air board and railroads have been conducting health risk assessments next to all major Southern California rail yards.

The public release of their findings has been delayed for months, but an air board spokeswoman said Tuesday that they would be released soon.

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janet.wilson@latimes.com