HomeMy WebLinkAboutres2014-001 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL AGENDA BILL NO. 2014 -- 64
CLEARANCES Initial Date Date Received in Council Office Agenda Date Assigned to:
Originator: Weimer 1/28/2014 1/28/2014 Other Business
Division Head:
Dept.Head:
Prosecutor:
Purchasing/Budget:
Executive:
TITLE OF DOCUMENT:
Resolution supporting increased safety standards for rail tank cars
ATTACHMENTS:
SEPA review required? ( ) Yes ( ) NO Should Clerk schedule a hearing? ( ) Yes ( ) NO
SEPA review completed? ( ) Yes ( ) NO Requested Date:
SUMMARY STATEMENT OR LEGAL NOTICE LANGUAGE: (If this item is an ordinance or requires a public
hearing,you must provide the language for use in the required public notice. Be specific and cite RCW or WCC as appropriate.
Be clear in explaining the intent of the action.)
Resolution supporting increased safety standards for rail tank cars that transport oil,ethanol,and other flammable liquids through Whatcom County,
and calling on the Federal U.S pipeline and hazardous materials safety administration to adopt as soon as possible rules requiring safety retrofitting
of existing rail cars.
COMMITTEE ACTION: COUNCIL ACTION:
1/28/2014: Council Approved 7-0
Res. 2014-001
•
Related County Contract#: Related File Numbers: Ordinance or Resolution
Number: Res. 2014-001
Please Note: Once adopted and signed, ordinances and resolutions are available for viewing and printing
on the Coun 's website at: www.co.whatcom.wa.us/council.
SPONSORED By: Weimer
PROPOSED BY: Weimer
INTRODUCTION DATE: 1/28/2014
RESOLUTION NO. 2014-001
SUPPORTING INCREASED SAFETY STANDARDS FOR RAIL TANK CARS THAT
TRANSPORT OIL, ETHANOL, AND OTHER FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS THROUGH WHATCOM
COUNTY, AND CALLING ON THE FEDERAL U.S PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS
MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION TO ADOPT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
RULES REQUIRING SAFETY RETROFITTING OF EXISTING RAIL CARS
WHEREAS, Public Safety is Whatcom County's primary goal; and
WHEREAS, rail freight operations impacts thousands of communities across all regions of
the United State of America; and
WHEREAS, rail lines through Whatcom County pass near the homes of thousands of
Whatcom County residents and near numerous businesses, recreation sites, transportation
centers, and other critical infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, safe rail operations are of critical interest to local governments, and there is a
demonstrable need for (1) preventing catastrophic rail accidents that have occurred most recently
on four locations in Canada and the United States; and (2) local governments to provide the
primary emergency response to rail accidents that happen within their jurisdiction; and (3) local
governments and communities to have a mechanism to recover the clean-up costs,
environmental remediation costs, medical expenses, and any other damages and/or claims that
are not reimbursed by the responsible party; and
WHEREAS, rail transports 11% of the nation's oil, according to the Association of
American Railroads; and
WHEREAS, according to the Association of American Railroads, the transport of crude oil
by rail tank car has increased from 9,500 carloads in 2008 to about 400,000 carloads in 2013,
and is likely to increase still further; and
WHEREAS, there are 92,000 rail tank cars carrying oil, ethanol, and other flammable
liquids, with the vast majority (85%) not meeting puncture-resistance and other standards that
apply to new tank cars; and
WHEREAS, in 2011, railroads and shippers voluntarily established tougher standards for
new tank cars, but only 15%, approximately 14,000 rail tank cars, of the tank cars in use meet
this standard; and
WHEREAS, the railroad industry, which does not own the majority of tank cars authorized
to travel on the nation's railways, has recently urged federal regulators to toughen the existing
standards for new tank cars and require that existing tank cars used to transport flammable
liquids, including crude oil, be retrofitted with advanced safety-enhancing technologies, or if not
upgraded, aggressively phased out; and
WHEREAS, Whatcom County can expect to see an increase of as many as two 100-car
unit trains traveling to regional refineries daily; and
WHEREAS, regional refineries share our commitment and concern for the communities in
which their employees live, work, recreate, and raise families; and
WHEREAS, BP has committed to dedicating 400 new rail cars to their Cherry Point facility
that are newly designed and incorporate higher-grade steel, shielding for the tank heads and
rollover protection, but other rail cars traveling the rail corridor through Whatcom County may not
be similarly equipped; and
WHEREAS, improvements in the rail infrastructure as well as rail operational and
maintenance safety requirements should continue to be a priority; and
WHEREAS, in the event of a derailment and/or spill, significant adverse effects to habitat,
both marine and near-shore, as well as air and water quality could occur; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Administration (PHMSA) issued a safety alert on January 2, 2014 stating that "the type
of oil being transported from the Bakken region may be more flammable than traditional heavy
crude oil," and requiring additional testing and other safety measures in response; and
WHEREAS, PHMSA has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the
safety of DOT-111 rail cars, which are used to transport oil; and
WHEREAS, there is compelling rationale for making long overdue changes in safe rail
operations whether through the retrofitting of existing rail tank cars or through increased
standards on new tank cars or both.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Whatcom County Council that Whatcom
County supports the implementation of increased safety standards for rail-tank cars, and
encourages efforts of industry to retrofit or replace rail-tank cars as soon as possible to meet
puncture resistant and other safety standards.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call upon the U.S. Department Of Transportation's
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to adopt as soon as possible in 2014 rules
requiring an accelerated retrofitting of existing cars to an equal standard to that required of newly
manufactured rail cars.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that we further call on federal officials to support and assist
local governmffi0tsir'inii appropriate enhanced emergency response planning and emergency
response q0 citCfu i1/,dank cars with flammable liquids.
.' ,` 9`° 4,? fir","
®;4#kOAVE tai 28th day of January, 2014.
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WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
A ��" ' WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
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Dana:'- wn-D.av�,��"erk of� 1e Council Carl Weimer, Council Chair
A•PRGVED AS TO FO) ' :
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evil Deputy Prosecutor