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Re: Railroads sue California over new crude oil rule
Author: Q
Date: 10-09-2014 - 18:31
If Bob2 is right, since the oil will flow every day anyhow (nuttin this law is going to do about that), there will be notification after notification after notification every single day. So what will be the likely response to being snowed under by so much paper?
What else but the usual! - No time to read 'em all, so they'll just get filed in some fancy new drawer in some fancy new facility, and probably get lost anyway. And when they get lost, the railroad will then have to prove that it did in fact send it - more paperwork to document the existence of the other paperwork.
So who benefits by all this feel good - do gooder legislation? Certainly not the environment! Especially when each town along the way, needs to file away its own copy of the notification. How many more trees will be cut down just to make all that useless feelgood paperwork!
Nobody benefits, except maybe the new employees that bankrupt cities and towns will have to hire in order to file 'em away and loose them. And don't forget the enforcement officers that will be needed to chase down the oversights. Oh - and maybe those extra employees needed by the railroad to make sure each jurisdiction get its copy, or to provide the proof it already sent a copy.
This IS exactly why some states and municipalities are going broke; while local governments in other parts of the country are thriving. That some states and municipalities (the same ones) are wasting resources on useless and impractical rules and tasks such as this one, is one big reason. And why do they do it? Usually, merely to chase some esoteric ideological pipe dream.
While this one rule might seem minor and innocuous to some people, multiply that minor effect by a few hundred separate useless or impractical requirements; and it gets to be a very big deal very fast. You may remember Senator Dirkson's famous quip, "A billion here, and a billion there; pretty soon you are talking really big big money!"
Money which nobody in California has - Or perhaps, you would like to "donate" some more of your extra cash towards your favorite impractical waste of resources.
Actually though, I do have a better very novel idea:
Since it will be a fact 95% if the time anyway, notified or not; local agencies should simply presume that petroleum products of all types will be transported by rail in their town that very day; acting accordingly to be prepared. That's what you and I, and the railroads, pay local taxes for - ain't it.
Then forget the feel good ideological rip-rap and follow the constitutional concept of "Separation of Powers" and let One agency regulate interstate commerce - in the case of railroads that would be the FRA.
Besides, the real solution to the real problem at hand, is that dangerous commodities must be transported in cars properly designed for the peculiar properties of that commodity, and railroad tariffs must be mandated to require that of their customers. Thus the technical and legal issues involved here are well beyond the practical ability of any state to control - let alone any silly municipality.
Told you it was a novel idea!
What else but the usual! - No time to read 'em all, so they'll just get filed in some fancy new drawer in some fancy new facility, and probably get lost anyway. And when they get lost, the railroad will then have to prove that it did in fact send it - more paperwork to document the existence of the other paperwork.
So who benefits by all this feel good - do gooder legislation? Certainly not the environment! Especially when each town along the way, needs to file away its own copy of the notification. How many more trees will be cut down just to make all that useless feelgood paperwork!
Nobody benefits, except maybe the new employees that bankrupt cities and towns will have to hire in order to file 'em away and loose them. And don't forget the enforcement officers that will be needed to chase down the oversights. Oh - and maybe those extra employees needed by the railroad to make sure each jurisdiction get its copy, or to provide the proof it already sent a copy.
This IS exactly why some states and municipalities are going broke; while local governments in other parts of the country are thriving. That some states and municipalities (the same ones) are wasting resources on useless and impractical rules and tasks such as this one, is one big reason. And why do they do it? Usually, merely to chase some esoteric ideological pipe dream.
While this one rule might seem minor and innocuous to some people, multiply that minor effect by a few hundred separate useless or impractical requirements; and it gets to be a very big deal very fast. You may remember Senator Dirkson's famous quip, "A billion here, and a billion there; pretty soon you are talking really big big money!"
Money which nobody in California has - Or perhaps, you would like to "donate" some more of your extra cash towards your favorite impractical waste of resources.
Actually though, I do have a better very novel idea:
Since it will be a fact 95% if the time anyway, notified or not; local agencies should simply presume that petroleum products of all types will be transported by rail in their town that very day; acting accordingly to be prepared. That's what you and I, and the railroads, pay local taxes for - ain't it.
Then forget the feel good ideological rip-rap and follow the constitutional concept of "Separation of Powers" and let One agency regulate interstate commerce - in the case of railroads that would be the FRA.
Besides, the real solution to the real problem at hand, is that dangerous commodities must be transported in cars properly designed for the peculiar properties of that commodity, and railroad tariffs must be mandated to require that of their customers. Thus the technical and legal issues involved here are well beyond the practical ability of any state to control - let alone any silly municipality.
Told you it was a novel idea!
