Monday, the Assembly Appropriations Committee released A3783 (Eustace). The bill requires owners or operators of certain trains to have discharge response, cleanup, and contingency plans to transport certain hazardous materials by rail; requires NJ DOT to request bridge
inspection reports from US DOT.
“We need this legislation and we need it now. New Jersey is already seeing hundreds of shipments of explosive fossil fuels, whether it is bomb trains carrying Bakken crude oil or LNG, and we could be seeing more in the future. PHMSA recently approved a special permit that will allow hundreds of trains carrying explosive LNG through New Jersey communities and neighborhoods. Not only do these hazardous shipments put people at risk by cutting through densely populated communities but they can also cause ecological disaster and water supply nightmares,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We need this legislation to protect communities that have dangerous train cars traveling through them every day. It has passed in the Senate and now the Assembly needs to act quickly and get to Governor Murphy’s desk to sign.”
Since 2008, oil train traffic in the U.S. has increased by more than 5,000 percent. North Dakota Bakken Shale oil is one of the most explosive types of oil in the world. One quart of oil contaminates one million gallons of water and one rail car carries 34,500 gallons of oil. LNG shipments carry high densities of hazardous natural gas. When a spill occurs, the LNG forms a vapor cloud that remains close to the ground because it is denser than air. This prolongs the hazard in both distance and time.
“We cannot afford to play Russian Roulette with our environment and our people. First responders need to know what is happening in our communities so that they can plan for spills or emergencies. Towns need to have contingency plans in place to clean up and minimize the risk. When a train carrying Bakken crude oil derails, it is a disaster. If it happened in New Jersey, it would be a tragedy of epic proportions. That is why we need this legislation,” said Tittel. “We need this bill to make sure there are response and emergency plans if something happens with one of these rail cars at a moment’s notice. These response plans will allow the public to be informed, especially ahead of time to help prepare for an emergency.”
The bill requires operators carrying Bakken crude shipments to have discharge response, cleanup, and contingency plans to transport certain hazardous materials by rail. Previous Bakken train derailments have led to train cars setting on fire, homes being destroyed, forced evacuations of entire towns, threatened water supplies, and human casualties. Governor Christie vetoed this bill when it was originally passed and an attempt for an override was made.
“We need this legislation because if there is an accident or spill, it can catastrophic consequences to our communities. This bill requires the railroad to have a warning system in place and a contingency plan that will deal with any potential spill or accident. This legislation also gives towns important tools to deal with a response or emergency clean up and will give the town notice when a train is coming through. It is important that the state legislature is resisting Trump Administration rollbacks to rail safety,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “This bill will help protect the people of New Jersey from dangerous spills and derailments. We need our legislature to move quickly on this bill to help protect susceptible communities.”
source: New Jersey Sierra Club