Oil train safety bill passes key Oregon committee

A bill that would increase Oregon’s preparedness for a catastrophic oil train accident passed a key legislative committee Wednesday.

Communities across the state have been alarmed by increasing oil train traffic coming from both the Bakken formation in North Dakota and the Canadian Tar Sands.

Elsewhere, a string of derailments, spills and fiery explosions have highlighted the dangers.

The worst of those, nearly two years ago in the Canadian town of Lac-Mégantic, killed 47 people and destroyed more than 30 buildings.

“We are not prepared,” Portland Fire Chief Erin Janssens told the House Energy and Environment Committee last month. “In the event of a major derailment, we do not have enough foam or adequate ways to apply it. We do not have sufficient booms to float on our waterways to protect from further environmental damage, nor do we have sufficient trained personnel for this type of incident.”

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Barbara Smith Warner, D-Portland. It came out of a legislative work group that has been meeting on the issue, she said.

A “gut-and-stuff” amendment was adopted in the House Rules Committee Wednesday.

It replaces the original bill, removing some provisions the railroads had objected to, such as making rail companies financially liable for oil spillage and authorizing an assessment on the companies for an emergency fund.

Still, Smith Warner said, the new language is a good compromise.

“This is an example of our ability to achieve a useful solution to an Oregon problem when we work cooperatively with all the partners involved,” she said.

The new bill:

— Requires the State Fire Marshal to adopt a plan for coordinated response to oil train accidents, including requirements for local responders to get ongoing training

— Requires the State Fire Marshal to create a system for identifying hazardous material response equipment owned by railroads located throughout the state, and for how access to that equipment would be coordinated.

— Creates the Oil and Hazardous Material Transportation by Rail Action Fund in the state treasury to receive grants, donations or other sources of income. Money in the fund would be appropriated to the State Fire Marshal’s Office to develop and implement the plan.

— Require the State Fire Marshal, in conjunction with local governments and other state agencies, to prepare an annual report on the coordinated response plan.

In Oregon, oil trains run through 15 counties, 25 legislative districts, 80 fire districts and 10 hazardous response districts, Smith Warner said.

The bill now goes to the Joint Ways and Means Committee.

tloew@statesmanjournal.com, (503) 399-6779 or follow at Twitter.com/SJWatchdog

About the bill

Hous Bill 3225 would tighten safety planning around rail transport of crude oil in Oregon.

The House Rules Committee adopted the bill as amended Wednesday, sending it to the Joint Ways and Means Committee.