Association of American Railroads

The prospect of contradictory federal, state, and local regulations that impact railroads led the Association of American Railroads (AAR) to ask CEA Consulting to find reasonable ways to reduce locomotive emissions while meeting the interests of railroads, government agencies, and community groups.

For the past twenty years, CEA has coordinated consensus-building efforts and served as the project manager of specialized teams from the AAR, Union Pacific Railroad, and BNSF Railway, including regulatory strategy, government relations, and technical analyses.

Under CEA’s management, this team has worked with state and federal regulators to develop a comprehensive, nationwide regulatory scheme. As a result, the US Environmental Protection Agency adopted a far-reaching locomotive emissions regulation that avoids conflicting state and local requirements. Meanwhile, the state of California and the railroads fashioned an aggressive—yet achievable and enforceable—locomotive emission reduction program for Southern California—the region where reductions were most needed.