MOSIER, Ore. — Union Pacific is asking a federal judge to reject local rules that threaten to derail its plans to add a second main track along the Columbia River Gorge where a crude oil train derailed last June.
The Omaha, Neb.-based railroad filed the lawsuit Tuesday against Wasco County and the Columbia River Gorge Commission, which moved to block the project last fall.
Union Pacific said federal rules govern railroads, so local restrictions like the ones Wasco County approved don’t apply to the project.
The chair of the Wasco County board of commissioners, Rod Runyon, said Tuesday that he was surprised by the lawsuit. He said he had not yet seen the lawsuit to comment further.
