Support true oil train bill

Take a quick tour around our region: Businesses, entrepreneurs and citizens are betting big on the Inland Northwest. So let’s not gamble with oil train safety in our state. This isn’t a hand we can afford to lose.

Of two opposing oil transportation bills in the Legislature, one is a bluff. The bill introduced by Sens. Kevin Ranker and Christine Rolfes is legislation requested by Gov. Jay Inslee, called for by city councils and county commissions throughout the state, and drafted to address the Department of Ecology’s recommendations. The other, introduced by Sen. Doug Ericksen, deals with ensuring oil train shipments are as safe as possible.

The language Ericksen used is his tell. While both bills call for emergency planning and extend the oil-spill tax to include rail, only Ranker and Rolfes’ bill, SB 5087, requires the industry to pay for oil spill prevention and planning, enhances safety requirements in oil transport and requires disclosure.

Oil transport laws should protect citizens first. Our local officials and emergency responders need to know what’s traveling through our communities; we need to know that it’s being done safely. We should not be left paying for those protections with tax dollars. Call this bluff by calling your legislator to support SB 5087.

Bart Mihailovich

Spokane