Gov. Inslee signs oil train measure

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law a measure Thursday that attempts to improve the safety of oil transportation as a sharp increase in trains carrying volatile crude oil poses new safety and environmental risks in the state. A compromise reached on the last day of the regular legislative session resolved differences between competing bills in the Senate and House. At least 24 oil trains have been involved in major fires or derailments during the past decade in the U.S. and Canada, including a 2013 accident in Quebec that killed 47 people. The latest derailment came earlier this month when a train carrying crude oil from the Bakken region derailed and caught fire in North Dakota, forcing the evacuation of a small town. Each week, 19 mile-long trains carrying crude oil roll through Washington state. State Department of Ecology officials say that number could jump to 137 or more trains a week if several proposed oil-by-rail facilities are built over the next several years. The bill signed by Inslee includes some provisions he wanted, such as requiring railroads hauling crude oil to show their ability to pay for oil spill cleanup and requiring facilities that receive oil by trains to provide weekly notice of the type and volume of oil shipped. Under the measure, more limited information will be made public on a quarterly basis. The measure also extends a barrel tax collected on crude oil and petroleum products to railroads to help pay for oil spill response, though it doesn’t cover pipelines and isn’t increased as Inslee and others had hoped. That barrel tax is currently collected when oil arrives from a marine vessel or barge. Environmental groups who had pushed for stronger protections called it a “weakened bill” when it passed the Legislature last month, saying it removed important protections for Puget Sound. Missing are provisions that would have allowed new rules requiring tug escort for oil tankers and other vessels in Puget Sound. However, the measure calls for a study of vessel traffic in the Columbia River, including evaluating whether tug escorts are needed for oil tankers or tug barges. In Grays Harbor, where oil-by-rail terminals are proposed, the measure allows rules including tug escort requirements to be adopted but only if those facilities are permitted. Railroads also have to submit oil spill contingency plans to the Department of Ecology. The bill also requires grants to emergency responders to help pay for oil spill response and firefighting equipment.