Sponsors (27)
The bill trades nationwide regulatory clarity and lower multistate compliance costs for locomotives and some nonroad engines against reduced state flexibility to set stronger local emissions limits, which could worsen air quality and health outcomes in some communities.
State governments, rail carriers, and manufacturers/operators gain a single federal emissions standard for locomotives and certain nonroad engines, reducing multistate regulatory uncertainty and creating clearer nationwide rules.
Manufacturers and operators face clearer, uniform federal rules for covered nonroad engines (e.g., construction, farm, locomotives), simplifying compliance and lowering multistate regulatory costs.
Interstate freight and commerce are streamlined because locomotives governed by a consistent federal standard face fewer conflicting state rules, potentially reducing delays and operational friction.
Local governments and communities lose the ability to adopt stricter emissions standards for locomotives and listed nonroad engines, which can prevent stronger local pollution protections.
Residents and workers near rail lines and busy construction/agricultural operations may see slower adoption of stronger local pollution controls, increasing local air quality and related health risks.
Rail carriers, equipment owners, and operators may face short-term compliance uncertainty and higher administrative or legal costs as engine categories and qualifiers are reorganized under the new federal framework.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Expands federal preemption to explicitly bar states from adopting standards for locomotives and locomotive engines engaged in commerce and revises the enumerated nonroad engine categories.
Amends federal law to change which kinds of nonroad engines and vehicles are covered by the federal preemption on state standards and explicitly adds locomotives and locomotive engines "engaged in commerce" to the list of categories that states cannot regulate. The change broadens and reorganizes the statutory list of covered equipment and clarifies that locomotives used in common-carrier railroad commerce are subject to the federal prohibition on state-level standards. The bill replaces limiting language tied to engines "subject to regulation under this Act" with a concrete list of covered nonroad engine/vehicle categories, consolidates and revises descriptions of construction and farm equipment engines, and adds a new clause that bars states from imposing standards on locomotives and their engines when those locomotives are engaged in commerce as defined in federal railroad law.
Official title: To amend the Clean Air Act to prohibit State standards relating to the control of emissions from existing locomotives and engines used in locomotives, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 5, 2025 by John Moolenaar · Last progress May 5, 2025