WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Keep oil-train safety and accident prevention on track

Seattle Times: How much do dropouts cost us? The real numbers behind ‘pay now or pay later’

 

 

Lance Dickie / Times editorial columnist

Seattle, WA

State residents must be protected from the hazards of oil trains hauling ever-increasing quantities of crude oil from North Dakota to terminal sites in Western Washington.

Seems straightforward enough, but a public hearing Tuesday in Spokane demonstrated how difficult and needlessly complex the problem has become.

Spokane is the entry point for oil trains into the state. Every tank car moves through the city. The state Senate Energy, Environment and Telecommunications Committee, chaired by state Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, convened the hearing.

Well, for starters, virtually no one from Spokane had a chance to speak. Oil industry and railroad representatives talked for most of the session. Among those irritated by the rationing of time was Spokane City Council President Bob Stuckart, who eventually got a moment or two at the microphone. After the hearing he said he had seen other council members, tribal representatives and local citizens drift away in frustration.

The audience heard lengthy discourse on petroleum volatility, flammability and corrosivity. And, oh my, the liquid that has spewed out of derailed tank cars, and consumed towns in flames, is so much safer than what we saw.

Ericksen explained Thursday a goal of the hearing was to provide the committee access to industry data and interpretations to get the range of arguments in play.

What made the industry lectures all the more curious is that various federal agencies tried for months to get detailed information on the nature of the crude oil. Those regulatory agencies had far less benign thoughts about the hazards in play.

The hearing was an attempt to gather information to inform the legislative process for 2015. That is necessary because 2014 was such a bust.

A comprehensive piece of legislation, E2SHB 2347, introduced by state Rep. Jessyn Farrell, D-Seattle, pursued access to information about oil shipments, by land and water, to inform public-safety efforts. The bill passed the House, and never got a hearing in the Senate.

Click here to read the whole story