Clean Air Watch welcomes EPA proposal to clean up dirty diesel trains and boats

Clean Air Watch Welcomes EPA Proposal
To Clean Up Dirty Diesel Trains and Boats

Washington, DC, March 2, 2007 – Frank O’Donnell, president of the non-profit Clean Air Watch, issued the following reaction today to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to set new air pollution standards for diesel trains and boats:

This ought to be a headline-grabber. It’s the rare instance in which the Bush administration is actually proposing something really good for the environment.

We welcome this EPA proposal. Diesel locomotives and marine engines are a significant and deadly source of pollution – particularly in cities and towns with ports and major train lines.

There are many details of this proposal yet to be worked out – and we hope EPA can accelerate the pace of cleanup -- but this proposal is a giant step in the right direction.

Cleaning these engines up will prevent death and disease.

As our friends with the Clean Air Task Force noted earlier this week, people riding in diesel-powered trains are getting a heavy dose of diesel fumes.

These standards are long overdue. It is crucial that EPA move without further delay to issue these standards in final form by the end of this year.

One reason for the delay so far has been the stubborn opposition of the General Electric Corporation, the nation’s biggest train engine maker. We hope GE’s intransigence will not cause EPA to water down its final rules.

We call on GE’s Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt to spend less money on flashy Ecomagination commercials, and more money actually cleaning up GE’s dirty diesel engines.