Oregon’s U.S. senators want to put a $175 fee on each older model railroad tank car used to ship flammable oil.
Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined four other Democrats in introducing a bill Thursday that would create a surcharge on each DOT-111, a tank car model known to be flawed and puncture-prone.
“It’s time for the Department of Transportation to push faster and more aggressively to make oil-by-rail transportation safer,” Wyden said in a statement. “This legislation takes a market-based approach to get unsafe cars off the tracks and safer cars on the tracks more quickly.”
The fee would increase each year, up to $1,400 by 2019. Money from the fee would go into various grants to help boost community preparedness. The grants would help pay for rerouting oil trains, first responder training, additional state rail inspectors and derailment-related cleanup costs.
The fee would also offset revenues given up through tax incentives for companies upgrading their tank cars to the newer model, known as the CPC-1232. That model, like the DOT-111, has been involved in fiery derailments and condemned by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The bill comes a day before U.S. and Canadian authorities are expected to announce new oil train safety rules, including updated tank car standards. Under the bill, tax credits would go toward those new standards.
Union Pacific and BNSF railroads both move oil through the Northwest. Oil by rail has grown exponentially in recent years, as North American oil production outpaced pipeline capacity and energy companies realized the ability to ship oil by rail opened up new markets and greater flexibility. Calls for new regulations came after several trains carrying flammable crude and ethanol in the past two years derailed and erupted in flames.
At least five refineries and two terminals in Oregon and Washington either currently accept or plan to accept oil by rail. Several other oil-by-rail projects have been proposed. Oil spill planners and firefighters in the Northwest have said they feel unprepared for the increased shipments.
In addition to the fee on older tank cars, the bill would require:
- A national study of how well emergency responders are prepared for oil trains
- A new education program and more information about hazardous shipments for communities along rail lines
- Published data on trains carrying flammable materials and which tank cars are being used
- A study of whether longer trains mean bigger risks