Exploding Trains, No New Regulations, Record Industry Profits: The Oil-by-Rail Story
A month ago there was a close call for the oil-by-rail industry. As part of the Cromnibus bill that President Obama signed in December, new oil-by-rail regulations were supposed to be finalized and implemented by regulators by January 15th.
Two days before that deadline, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), the agency responsible for new regulations, posted new documents on their website related to recent meetings between PHMSA and various oil and rail industry lobbyists.
They did not issue a press release about these meetings, unlike the meetings a year ago when the industry volunteered to try improving its safety record and there was plenty of publicity.
And then it was announced that new regulations would once again be delayed, this time until May 2015.
Since that delay an ethanol train has derailed resulting in burning rail cars and ethanol spilling into the Mississippi River. An oil train derailed and caught fire in Gogama, Canada. And another oil train of Bakken crude oil derailed, exploded, andleaked oil into the Kanawha River near Mount Carbon, West Virginia.
Also, since the announced delay of regulations there have been two congressional hearings on this issue. In one, Sen. John Thune (R-SD) was adamant that the proposed new regulations were “unattainable” and in the next Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA) lectured the hearing attendees on how it was necessary for everyone to be“singing the same tune” so the American public didn’t get the “misperception” that the oil-by-rail industry isn’t safe.
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