EPA Wants Train and Ship Emissions Cut 90%, Starting Next Year

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson held a press conference last Friday in one of the busiest ports of one of the reputedly dirtiest states: Newark, New Jersey. Johnson’s goal is to make Newark and the rest of the nation cleaner, by reducing fumes and soot from diesel transport like cargo vessels and container trains by 90 percent. The changes will apply to a variety of vehicles, including freight and passenger trains, tugboats, yachts, ferries, and cargo ships.

This is one of the first times the Bush administration’s EPA has made such an innovative proposal. As we reported last year, the EPA has had its libraries closed and Bush’s latest budget is kind to corporations but harsh on wildlife.

When the EPA’s proposed changes are completed, diesel engines would have reduced soot and other airborne matter by 90 percent. Most likely, Johnson said, the plan would not be fully implemented until 2030, and would cost $600 million to fulfill. But, he added, the savings from reduced respiratory illnesses and other air pollution-related maladies would be around $12 billion by 2030.

A timeline of the proposed changes:

  • 2008: New eco-friendly fuel, emissions systems are certified for locomotives, implemented as available
  • 2009: New diesel-powered trains and ships required to use “new emissions technology”
  • 2010: All older locomotives required to have “new emissions technology” implemented
  • 2012: Ships and trains required to use a cleaner diesel fuel which has very low sulfur levels
  • 2014: All marine vehicles using diesel engines required to use catalytic converters
  • 2015: All trains with diesel engines required to use catalytic converters
  • 2015: Final rules regarding manufacturing clean vehicles and their fuels implemented
  • 2030: Goal for all diesel-powered marine vehicles and locomotives to adhere to new environmentally-friendly regulations. Air-borne soot reduced by 90%
  • —Jen Phillips

    AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

    We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

    The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

    Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with The Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

    If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

    Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

    Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

    payment methods

    AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

    We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

    The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

    Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with The Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

    If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

    Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

    Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

    payment methods

    We Recommend

    Latest

    Sign up for our free newsletter

    Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

    Get our award-winning magazine

    Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

    Subscribe

    Support our journalism

    Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

    Donate