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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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In Our View: Safety Should be Job One

Trump administration’s rollback of oil train regulations puts our region at risk

The Columbian
Published:

Although the demise of a proposed oil terminal at the Port of Vancouver appears imminent, oil-bearing trains will continue to roll through Vancouver and other populated areas of Clark County. Because of that, a decision by the Trump administration to scale back some safety regulations for oil trains is cause for concern.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced last week that it would overturn a 2015 decision requiring trains that carry hazardous materials to have electronically controlled pneumatic brakes by 2021. Proponents say electronic brakes work more quickly than the air brakes that are the industry standard, thereby helping to prevent derailments.

Residents in Washington and Oregon are well aware of the danger involved. Last year, 14 cars from a Union Pacific train derailed near Mosier, Ore., in the Columbia River Gorge, spilling 42,000 gallons of crude oil and sparking a fire that burned for 14 hours. As U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said in the wake of last week’s decision: “Oil trains are rolling explosion hazards, and as we’ve seen all too many times — and all too recently in Mosier — it’s not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’ oil train derailments will occur. Degrading of oil train safety requirements is a huge step backward and one that puts our land, homes and lives at risk.”

The issue of oil-train safety has been at the forefront in Clark County since 2013, when the Port of Vancouver signed an agreement for the construction and operation of an oil terminal at the port. In the wake of last month’s election, anti-terminal forces have a majority on the board, leading to assumptions that the lease will be terminated; in addition, a state regulatory board said it would recommend to Gov. Jay Inslee that the project be rejected. But even if the project is scuttled, oil trains will continue to carry crude through the area on the way to refineries in northern Washington.

In overturning the mandate for electronic brakes, the U.S. Department of Transportation relied heavily upon a review by the National Academy of Sciences that was unable to determine whether electronic brakes could conclusively be deemed safer than other braking systems. In part, that lack of a definitive answer came because the railroad industry insisted upon actual trains being wrecked as part of an experiment — a costly and unrealistic demand designed to obfuscate the issue. Without such an experiment, the Department of Transportation stated, “The cost of this mandate would exceed three-fold the benefits it would produce.”

Such a declaration is absurd on its face. How does one put a price on the prevention of an explosion that could kill dozens or hundreds in Camas or Washougal? How does one measure the cost of a catastrophic oil spill in the Columbia River Gorge? Or a fire that could destroy office buildings near downtown Vancouver? The human, environmental and economic costs of a large derailment could be immeasurable, and the possibility of such a calamity demands that every practical safety measure be embraced.

The railroad industry long has fought the electronic-brake mandate, saying it would cost about $2.5 billion. Federal officials, at least under the Obama administration, argued that the cost would be closer to $500 million.

Either way, the discussion is disconcerting. It is misguided to argue over the price tag when working to avoid a disaster that could irrevocably damage the region.

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