WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Measure seeks more safety for railroad workers, communities

A railroad-safety measure, House Bill 2811, will be introduced in the House of Representatives today (Friday, Jan. 24, 2014). State Rep. Jim Moeller is co-sponsoring the legislation. At this writing, the proposal hasn’t yet been officially introduced and referred to a legislative committee.

“This legislation emphasizes stronger principles for railroad safety — both for crew members on passenger and freight trains, and for communities and neighborhoods in which these trains travel. The oil-train terminal that some people are proposing for our own Vancouver area certainly brings us a huge new impetus to this discussion.

“Recent recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) underscore the lack of readiness-for-disaster in our Pacific Northwest states. Specifically, this NTSB-led discussion reflects grave concerns regarding oil trains carrying North Dakota crude through Portland and other cities and towns on or near the Columbia River. Last year, more than 100 of these oil trains passed in the regional vicinity of our communities.

“Undoubtedly, this is potentially explosive, potentially lethal cargo. A deadly, catastrophic incident is only one derailment and spill away. Consider the July 6, 2013, oil-train accident in the Canadian province of Quebec. In that terrible disaster, an unattended 74-car freight train loaded with crude oil ‘ran away’ and derailed. Forty-seven people were killed, part of a town was burned to the ground, and 1.6 million gallons of crude oil was spilled.

“Right now, railroads aren’t even required to prove they have sufficient emergency equipment aboard and available to contain disastrous spills — such as the ones that occurred in North Dakota and Alabama last year. People have a right to know that everything is being done — that as many appropriate steps as possible are being pursued — to keep their families and their neighborhoods safe in the event of an accident.”