Senator Cantwell Press Release
[Editor: For the full text of the 395-page rule, see http://www.dot.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/final-rule-flammable-liquids-by-rail_0.pdf. – RS]
Cantwell Statement on DOT Crude-by-Rail Safety Rules
May 1, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) issued
the following statement on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s new
rules governing the safety of oil train tank cars.
“The new DOT rule is just like saying let the oil trains roll. It
does nothing to address explosive volatility, very little to reduce the
threat of rail car punctures, and is too slow on the removal of the most
dangerous cars. It’s more of a status quo rule than the real safety
changes needed to protect the public and first responders.”
In March following four fiery derailments involving oil trains, Cantwell introduced the
Crude-By-Rail Safety Act of 2015
with Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Dianne
Feinstein (D-CA), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR). The legislation requires the
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to
establish new regulations to mitigate the volatility of gases in crude
oil shipped via tank car. It also would immediately halt the use of
older-model tank cars at high risk for puncturing and catching fire in
derailments, as well approving $40 million for first responder training
programs to improve emergency response procedures.
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Also see related:
.... The rules state that the oldest, least safe tank cars should be replaced
within three years with new cars that have thicker shells, higher
safety shields and better fire protection. A later generation of tank
cars, built since 2011 with more safety features, will have to be
retrofitted or replaced by 2020....
NEW REGULATIONS: DOT Canada joint announcement – Comments and notes By Dr. Fred Millar, May 1 2015 Benicia Independent
Also raises funding for fossil fuel research by $34 million
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House of Representatives passed H.R. 2028, “The Energy
and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2016,” by a
vote of 240-177.
The bill sets funding levels for
important programs within the U.S. Departments of Energy, Interior, and the
Army Corps of Engineers. While staying within the limits set by the sequester,
the bill manages to raise funding for fossil fuel research by $34 million from
2015 levels while cutting renewable energy and efficiency research by $279
million. Simultaneously, it is packed with policy riders that undermine bedrock
environmental laws like the Clean Water Act and limit the Environmental
Protection Agency’s ability to study the dangers of hydraulic fracturing.
Friends of the Earth Climate and
Energy Campaigner Lukas Ross issued the following statement in response:
Shoveling more of our tax dollars
into the pockets of ExxonMobil and the Koch Brothers while defunding clean
energy is climate denial at its worst. Fossil fuel interests don’t need more
money. Solutions to the climate crisis do.
From hobbling the Clean Water Act to
limiting the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to even study fracking,
House Speaker John Boehner is continuing his assault on the air we breathe and
the water we drink.
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