COLUMBUS, OH – At the site of a 2012 fiery train derailment, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) called for strong safety standards for railcars transporting hazardous liquids in order to protect Ohio communities. According to a study from the Columbus Dispatch, Columbus has seen 357 spills of hazardous materials carried by rail car – more than any other city in Ohio during the past 40 years.

“We’ve seen too many derailments of trains with unsafe cars, often carrying crude oil and other hazardous material. It’s time to put a stop to these dangerous and costly spills,” Brown said. “That’s why I introduced legislation that would help reduce risks to communities near railroad tracks by phasing-out older tank cars, providing a tax credit to help companies upgrade to newer, safer cars, and help communities better prepare for accidents. I’m hopeful we can prevent future accidents and provide relief for communities that watch these trains roll through town each day.”

Standing alongside firefighters and public safety officials in Columbus, Brown outlined legislation to help speed up the phase-out of older, dangerous tank cars and encourage companies to replace them with newer, safer cars. Brown was joined by City of Columbus Assistant Fire Chief Karry Ellis, who responded to the 2012 explosion, and Mike Pannell, director of Franklin County Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

Following the 2012 explosion in Columbus – and incidents in West Virginia, Illinois, Iowa, and Ontario, Canada just this year – Brown cosponsored legislation to protect Ohio communities by taking unsafe oil trains off the tracks and giving first responders in local communities the resources they need should accidents occur.

The Hazardous Materials Rail Transportation Safety Improvement Act of 2015 would build on the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) new regulations – finalized in May – to tighten safety standards on new and existing railcars, and update handling methods of hazardous and other materials throughout Ohio.

The bill would also provide funding to better equip communities and first responders in the event of a rail accident. It would establish a dedicated fund for clean-up costs of oil train accidents, advanced training for first responders, and grant money for states and cities to reroute rail tracks carrying large volumes of hazardous materials away from highly populated areas. This would be funded by a $175 per shipment fee on older tank cars with widely known safety risks that are used to ship crude oil and other hazardous materials. A one page summary of the bill is available here.

In March 2015, Brown wrote to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) demanding that OMB work with the DOT to quickly finalize the new standards that were first proposed last year.

In July 2014, Brown applauded the proposed rule to increase safety standards on new and existing railcars, and update handling methods of hazardous and other liquids throughout Ohio.

 

 

 

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