Ohio senators ready a rail safety bill after fiery crash and toxic chemical release

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U.S. senators are planning to propose legislation that would make railroads, like the one involved in last month’s fiery crash and toxic chemical release in Ohio, subject to a series of new federal safety regulations and financial consequences.

A view of the scene on Feb. 24, 2023, as the cleanup continues at the site of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

The Senate bill aims to address several key regulatory questions that have arisen from the disaster, including why the state of Ohio was not made aware the hazardous load was coming through and why the crew didn’t learn sooner of an impending equipment malfunction.“Through this legislation, Congress has a real opportunity to ensure that what happened in East Palestine will never happen again,” Vance said in a statement.

The Association of American Railroads trade group says 99.9% of hazardous materials shipments reach their destinations safely, and railroads are generally regarded as the safest option to transport dangerous chemicals across land. Still, the East Palestine accident showed how even one derailment involving hazardous materials can be devastating.

Brown said it shouldn’t take a massive railroad disaster for elected officials to work across party lines for their communities. Brown, Vance and the bill’s other early co-sponsors — who include Democrats Robert Casey Jr. and John Fetterman, of Pennsylvania, and Republicans Marco Rubio, of Florida, and Josh Hawley, of Missouri — also would increase the maximum fine that the U.S. Department of Transportation can impose for safety violations. It would raise it from $225,000 to up to 1% of a railroad’s annual operating income, which could run into the tens of millions of dollars.

 

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At the same time, the gop in Congress says they need more time to act, meaning, not at all.

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Ohio senators ready rail safety bill after fiery crashU.S. senators are planning to propose legislation that would make railroads, like the one involved in last month’s fiery crash and toxic chemical release in Ohio, subject to a series of new federal safety regulations and financial consequences.
Source: wjxt4 - 🏆 246. / 63 Read more »

Ohio senators ready rail safety bill after fiery crashThe bill aims to address several key regulatory questions, like why Ohio was not made aware the hazardous load was coming through and why the crew didn't learn sooner of an impending equipment malfunction. Full story:
Source: WEWS - 🏆 323. / 59 Read more »

Ohio senators ready rail safety bill after fiery crashRailroads like the one involved in last month's fiery crash and toxic chemical release in Ohio would be subject to a series of new federal safety regulations and financial consequences under legislation being introduced Wednesday by the state's two U.S. senators. Sherrod Brown and JD Vance, a Democrat and Republican, respectively, and several others of both parties, was obtained by The Associated Press. The bill responds to the fiery derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train in East Palestine, in northeast Ohio near the Pennsylvania border, on Feb. 3, when 38 cars derailed and more burned. The law suits will tell us that there were already laws in place that should have caught these defects. Nothing new under the Sun. The only reason new laws are being put in place is because staffing wasn't following procedure and protocol.
Source: YahooNews - 🏆 380. / 59 Read more »

Ohio senators ready rail safety bill after fiery crashU.S. senators are planning to propose legislation that would make railroads, like the one involved in last month’s fiery crash and toxic chemical release in Ohio, subject to a series of new federal safety regulations and financial consequences. Like Democrats have always wanted? How's that deregulation thing going, Republicans? Not so well is it?
Source: KPRC2 - 🏆 80. / 68 Read more »

Ohio senators introduce rail safety bill after fiery crashCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Railroads like the one involved in last month's fiery crash and toxic chemical release in Ohio would be subject to a series of new federal safety regulations and financial consequences under bipartisan legislation introduced Wednesday by the state's two U.S. Hail regulation Obama already had policy in place. Maybe undoing rail regulations a few years ago was a bad idea. *shocker*
Source: AP - 🏆 728. / 51 Read more »