Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
House passes pilot to retrofit freight switcher locomotives using Volkswagen mitigation funds
Summary
The Utah House approved HB 211 to fund a pilot retrofitting project for freight switcher locomotives using $2 million in state Volkswagen mitigation funds, paired with federal DERA grants and railroad contributions; supporters said retrofits could sharply cut NOx and PM2.5, while members questioned cost-effectiveness and safeguards to keep retrofitted engines in-state.
The Utah House on Feb. 23 passed House Bill 211, a pilot program to use approximately $2 million of state Volkswagen mitigation funding to retrofit a small number of freight-switcher locomotives, a measure supporters said could sharply reduce localized air pollution.
Representative Handy, sponsor of the bill, told colleagues the proposal would leverage a 40 percent grant under the Diesel Emission Reduction Act and a roughly 25 percent contribution from the railroad to address so-called tier 0 freight switcher engines that run around the clock in rail yards. "Why in the world would we want to give some taxpayer money to a multi billion…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
