Washington State Lawmakers seek oil train regs. & restrictions
Author: Carl R. Quist
Date: 02-07-2014 - 16:04
A group of Democratic lawmakers in Olympia are pushing regulations on the movement of oil trains in the State of Washington. Some of the lawmakers have stated they would like to find a way to completely block the movement of oil and coal trains within the state as an effort to curb global warming. Proposed new regulations seek to restrict the movement of oil trains (and river barges, although no regulations for hazmat movements by truck are proposed) in Washington. Proposals include: requiring the use of upgraded tank cars, requiring the railroads make public notifications of where and when such trains move, limiting the speed of oil trains, limiting the amount of hazmat contained in any one train, blocking the movements of trains containing hazmat through populated areas, blocking the movement of trains containing hazmat through environmentally sensitive areas, a per car tax on hazmat movements in the state and numerous other restrictions. The Spokane city council last Monday voted to support similar restrictions on a state and national basis. Last month, the NTSB proposed very similar rules with the addition of requiring the relocation of rail lines away from populated areas in areas where railroads frequently move hazardous materials. Republican lawmakers in Washington worry that making hazmat movements public would invite possible problems with people tampering with things ahead of trains, or inviting possible terrorist actions. As a side note, last month the mayor of Chicago advocated a per car tax on all hazmat movements in the city to fund relocation of rail lines out of the City limits of Chicago.