Feds warn railroads to comply with oil train notification requirement
The Bellingham Herald | July 22, 2015 | Column by Curtis Tate
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Transportation warned railroads that they must continue to notify states of large crude oil shipments after several states reported not getting updated information for as long as a year.
Railroads use new oil shipment rule to fight transparency
McClatchy DC (via The Benicia Independent) | June 25, 2015 | Column by Curtis Tate
WASHINGTON — Railroads may have found a new weapon in their fight to keep information about oil train shipments from the public: a federal rule that was supposed to increase transparency.
Oil industry sues government over train safety rules
McClatchyDC | May 12, 2015 | Column by Curtis Tate
The oil industry went to court Monday over the Obama administration’s new oil train safety rules, challenging the timeline for refitting tens of thousands of tank cars and the requirement for enhanced braking systems on the cars.
New rules on oil trains draw flak from firefighters, too
McClatchyDC (via The Benicia Independent) | May 11, 2015 | Column by Curtis Tate
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers and environmental and industry groups criticized the federal government’s new safety measures for oil trains when they were announced earlier this month. Now another group has expressed disappointment in the new rules:
Vandalism on inactive rail line used to justify oil train secrecy
McClatchyDC | May 10, 2015 | Column by Curtis Tate
Part of the federal government’s justification for keeping details about oil trains secret is literally hiding in the weeds on the South Dakota prairie.
Rail defect, tank car valves implicated in West Virginia oil train fire
McClatchyDC | April 16, 2015 | Column by Curtis Tate
WASHINGTON — Outlet valves underneath four tank cars in a February oil train derailment in West Virginia were sheared off and the 50,000 gallons of crude oil they released ignited in a fire that subsequently caused several nearby rail cars to explode, according to a federal report.