WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Farrell to continue push for transparency in oil shipments

With the passage of today’s supplemental budget the Legislature has acknowledged the dangers that come with the shipment of oil through our state.

Today’s budget will include a $300,000 appropriation for the Department of Ecology to study the issue of oil transport over our water and railways. The purpose of the study is to assess public health and safety as well as environmental impacts associated with oil transport. It will also provide analysis of statewide risks, gaps and options for increasing public safety, and improving spill prevention and response readiness. In the last two years the United States has seen more oil spilled because of train derailments than we saw over the previous 40 years. I am glad that we took this first step towards action, but there is more we can and should do.

Regretfully, one of my top priorities this session, The Oil Transportation Act (HB 2347), after passing the House with bipartisan support, didn’t receive a hearing in the Republican controlled Senate.

While I’m pleased there is a provision in the budget to study the issue, my bill would have gone farther by taking action to prepare our cities and first responders to deal with potential dangers associated with oil shipments. The bill would have required disclosure of information about oil shipments, and incentivized safer movement of oil over our waters.

Procrastinating on the transparency and prevention provisions of the bill does not make our communities safer from the dangers these shipments bring. We have seen too many derailments and explosions over the last 18 months. The time to act is now – even the federal government has begun its response – the National Transportation Safety Administration has urged rail companies to divert trains carrying oil away from population centers.

While I believe this lack of action is a setback, I will continue to push for common sense transparency and safety measures in regards to the transportation of potentially dangerous materials across our state.