Spurred by Mosier derailment fire, Oregon Legislature takes on oil trains

The Oregon Legislature is taking another run at beefing up safety laws governing oil trains traveling across the state.

Oregon has the weakest oil train regulation among West Coast states.

Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, has vowed to change that. He plans to introduce a bill in the 2018 session to bring the state up to par with its neighbors.

The difference was especially apparent after a June 2016 derailment and fire that threatened Mosier in the Columbia River Gorge, Courtney said. 

On Tuesday, the House and Senate committees that oversee emergency preparedness held a joint meeting to hear about Washington state’s regulations.

“Washington is way ahead of us in the area of protecting the public and the environment, as well as first responders,” Courtney said.

Among the differences:

• Washington requires railroads to submit oil spill contingency plans, which the state can approve or deny. They include notification information, types and physical properties of oil handled, and relationship to other plans. Oregon does not.
• Washington requires drills and exercises to make sure railroads can implement their plans. Oregon does not.
• Washington has 25 geographic response plans for rail underway or completed, while Oregon has one. Geographic response plans identify natural, cultural and economic resources at risk from oil spills and identify tactical response and strategies tailored to the specific geographic location.

Washington’s geographic response plan for the Mid-Columbia River was completed just eight months before the Mosier derailment, said David Byers, Spills Program response manager for the Washington Department of Ecology, said.

“The effective preplanning measures in place helped Mosier go better than it otherwise might have,” Byers said.

Oregon legislators have twice tried to increase oversight of oil trains and, under industry pressure, have twice failed. Last year, Courtney said, the House asked to take the lead on the issue.

“In the end it failed,” he said. “This time, we’re looking at it in the Senate.”

Oil trains travel through Oregon both east and west along the Columbia Gorge to the Idaho border; and north and south via either the Willamette Valley or Central Oregon.

“These spills can happen anywhere in Oregon, including Salem,” Courtney said.

tloew@statesmanjournal.com, 503-399-6779 or follow at Twitter.com/Tracy_Loew

Read more:

Whistleblowers, audits critical of ODOT division, lawmakers mostly unaware

Salem Rep. Jodi Hack will resign to lead Oregon Home Builders Association

Contaminated Salem soil can be moved, used to grow crops, DEQ decides