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National Car Rental Fined Nearly $500K for Diesel Idling Violations at Logan and Bradley Airports

Release Date: 07/19/2010
Contact Information: David Deegan, EPA Press Office, (617) 918-1017

(Boston, Mass. – July 19, 2010) – Pending court approval, several companies affiliated with National Car Rental will pay a fine of $475,000 for repeated violations of motor vehicle idling regulations at two New England airports: Logan International in Boston, Mass. and Bradley International near Hartford, Conn.

On numerous occasions in 2006 and 2007, EPA investigators observed the shuttle buses that carry passengers from the airport terminal to the rental car locations idling excessively. At the time, Vanguard Car Rental USA Inc operated the National Car Rental facilities at Logan and Bradley Airports. The current owners and operators of these facilities are Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company of Boston, LLC, and CAMRAC, LLC. Both Massachusetts and Connecticut have clean air regulations which limit motor vehicle idling (to five minutes in Mass. and three minutes in Conn.) with exceptions allowed for vehicles undergoing maintenance, making deliveries or in extreme cold conditions.

“Here in New England, we suffer from disproportionately high asthma rates,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England Office. “Diesel pollution is very harmful, especially for sensitive populations such as the young, elderly and people who suffer from asthma. It is critical for the health of the surrounding community that companies like National Car Rental comply with anti-idling laws.”

EPA had documented idling violations at Logan Airport dating back to 2002. Since taking over from Vanguard in mid-2007, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and CAMRAC have been taking steps to address excessive idling at the Logan and Bradley facilities, including more management oversight, posting no-idling signs, installing electronic idling controls and retraining drivers.

The Consent Decree, lodged in federal court and requiring approval by the court, requires the companies to continue with anti-idling measures, such as driver training, daily management walk-throughs to monitor idling, maintaining electronic idling controls and posting of no-idling signs.

Diesel emissions contribute to a number of serious air pollution problems such as smog, acid rain and increased carbon concentrations in the atmosphere. In New England, diesel engines are the third largest human-made source of fine particles, contributing more than 20 percent of fine particle emissions.  Fine particles can cause lung damage and aggravate respiratory conditions, such as asthma and bronchitis. Based upon human and laboratory studies, there is also considerable evidence that diesel exhaust is a likely carcinogen.

Idling engines typically waste up to a gallon of fuel per hour. As a result, it makes good economic and environmental sense to minimize idling. Moreover, idling is harmful to engines, increasing maintenance costs and shortening engine life. For a wait time of more than a few seconds, turning off the engine saves fuel, protects the engine, and helps improve air quality.

More Information:

The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court, will be subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court. Once it is published in the Federal Register, a copy of the consent decree will be available on the Justice Department Web site at (http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html).

Diesel exhaust and anti-idling guidelines (www.epa.gov/ne/eco/diesel).

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