http://www.wkow.com/story/29018776/2015/05/08/local-federal-officials-work-on-safety-for-crude-oil-trains
[video in on-line article]
Local, federal officials work on safety for crude oil trains
Posted: May 08, 2015 6:27 PM EST Updated: May 08, 2015 6:30 PM EST
By Jennifer Kliese
MADISON (WKOW) -- Shipments resumed along the North Dakota rail line
where a crude oil train derailed earlier this week.
As cleanup continues in the small community affected, Wisconsin rail
officials are working to make sure the state is prepared for the
possibility of a spill. The small communities along the rails are the
biggest concern because the impact of a derailment or oil spill could be
devastating.
Jeff Plale, the Commissioner of Railroads in Wisconsin, says more,
larger crude oil trains than ever before are coming from North Dakota
through Wisconsin, but oil only makes up about two percent of all rail
traffic.
Since recent derailments, he's been traveling the state to meet with
local responders and the state's emergency management office, ensuring
they have the proper equipment in the event of a spill.
Meanwhile, the federal government released plans a week ago to phase out
unsafe rail cars by 2020. Some lawmakers, like Sen. Tammy Baldwin, say
that's not soon enough to keep communities safe. She's introduced new
legislation that would take further safety precautions.
"There are steps that can be taken, a process that can occur, that can
make it much less susceptible to explosion," Baldwin told 27 News
earlier this week. "That's sort of a basic, common sense thing that
should be required prior to transport of crude oil by rail through our
state or any other."
Plale says while the state and federal government are working to improve
conditions, changes can't happen overnight.
"I think everybody agrees that the oil cars need to be upgraded, that
the new cars coming online will be safer, but no amount of legislation
can ever prevent an accident but you can certainly, through working with
the industry and being out here, get a good feel for what is being
done," Plale tells 27 News.
Baldwin and other Democrats wrote a letter to U.S. Department of
Transportation officials asking for the government to require railroads
to share information on shipments of crude oil with first responders, to
better protect the public. The DOT rule puts in place new standards and
a new schedule to retrofit older tank cars and requires a new braking
standard to avoid accidents. It also has new protocols for trains
carrying flammable liquids.
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