DeFazio requests USDOT action on tank-car safety

[mahatmakanejeeves]

DeFazio requests USDOT action on tank-car safety; Kind and Baldwin seek environmental review of BNSF track project

Rail News: Federal Legislation & Regulation
1/26/2015

U.S Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) last week sent a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx urging him to take immediate action to address tank-car safety.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) maintains that finalizing a tank-car safety rule remains one of its highest priorities, yet the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) now reports that publication of a final rule is not anticipated until May 12 and the USDOT has not even transmitted a draft final rule to the Office of Management and Budget for review, wrote DeFazio, the ranking member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The USDOT aims to issue a final tank-car rule prior to May.

In March 2011, the Association of American Railroads petitioned PHMSA to conduct a rulemaking on new tank-car design standards, "which seemingly languished in the bowels of the agency until [July] 2013, when a train transporting crude oil in DOT-111 tank cars in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, killed 47 people and completely destroyed the town center," DeFazio wrote. Two months later, PHMSA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on new tank-car design standards.

"Here we are almost 15 months later, and we still do not have a final rule. Frankly, I am concerned that opposition to the more contentious portions of the rule will only lead to further delays, possibly even litigation," DeFazio wrote. "That will end up postponing implementation of a final rule while the concerns of states and local communities are growing. ... Delays in issuing a final rule also have significant implications for rail-car manufacturers, he believes. It will take time for car builders to adjust to the standards proposed in the rule, which in turn will have a rippling effect on shippers who are putting off purchases of new tank cars until the new design standards are finalized, said DeFazio.

For more on this proposed rule, Google PHMSA-2012-0082-0180 hm251 nprm.

Here is the ANPRM (Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking):

{Docket No. PHMSA–2012–0082 (HM–251)} RIN 2137–AE91 Hazardous Materials: Rail Petitions and Recommendations To Improve the Safety of Railroad Tank Car Transportation (RRR).

Here is the docket at Regulations.gov:

PHMSA–2012–0082 (HM–251) Hazardous Materials: Rail Petitions and Recommendations To Improve the Safety of Railroad Tank Car Transportation.