To address a dramatic increase in crude oil traveling through the state — from zero gallons in 2011 to more than 700 million gallons in 2013 — Gov. Jay Inslee signed a measure into law Thursday to strengthen oil transport safety measures.
The governor called the measure a “solid step forward.” But he remains concerned for the safety of Washingtonians.
“These trains are a mile long with very volatile material, they’re rolling through our neighborhoods and they’re not safe today,” Inslee said. “More needs to be done.”
Some of the key components of House Bill 1449 include increasing the number of the state’s rail inspectors, requiring railroads hauling crude to demonstrate an ability to pay for a cleanup, and ensuring oil refineries share information about the type of oil and volume with both the state’s Department of Ecology and first responders. The information will be available in aggregate form to the public on a quarterly basis.
The measure also taxes barrels of crude oil traveling through the state by rail and puts the money toward oil spill response programs. Currently, barrels of oil are taxed if arriving via ship. Democrats were hoping to extend the tax further to include pipelines.
Columbia River study
The bill also contains a provision to study whether tug escorts are needed for oil traveling on the Columbia River.
Rob Duff, the governor’s senior policy adviser on the environment, said Inslee is still hoping the federal government steps up.
Inslee, a Democrat, is hoping legislation proposed by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., passes at the federal level.
Cantwell is proposing an immediate ban of older-model tank cars and calling for new regulations on the gases contained in crude oil shipped by rail.
Meanwhile, a group of environmental organizations, including Friends of the Columbia Gorge, is challenging federal rules that they say allow for too much time to phase out the older tank cars. They also criticized the government for complicating the process of obtaining information.
“The good news is, one of the very tricky things about state regulations is, of course, the federal pre-emption issue, but we targeted the notification piece of our legislation at the oil refineries,” Rep. Jessyn Farrell, D-Seattle, told The Columbian in an earlier interview.
“I’m not concerned federal rule will undermine that,” Farrell said, adding it was part of why the state “focused on refineries.”
The Associated Press and Eric Florip of The Columbian contributed to this report.
