California Senator Lois Wolk (via The Benicia Independent) | May 11, 2015 | Press Release

SACRAMENTO—Legislation by Senator Lois Wolk (D-Davis) to protect communities along rail lines by requiring trains and light engines carrying freight within California to be operated with an adequate crew size for public safety reasons secured passage from the Senate last Thursday on a bipartisan 23-11 vote.

Syracuse Post-Standard | May 11, 2015 | LTE by Frank Raymond Cetera

To the Editor:

Last Fiday, attending an Economic Expo at the Fairgrounds' Empire Room, I stopped in my tracks at the view of an ominous train whose cars stretched as far as the eye could see.The placards read "1267", indicating petroleum crude oil - a class 3 flammable liquid.This is the same type of explosive cargo as on the train that derailed in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec in 2013, destroying half the downtown and killing 47 people. The same type of train that derailed and exploded earlier this year in Colorado, South Carolina, and just last week in North Dakota.

The Hawkeye (via The Benicia Independent) | May 11, 2015 | Column by Kathleen Sloan

BNSF Railway carried the Hess Corp.-owned rail car, which carried highly volatile Bakken crude oil from North Dakota and appears to have followed the law.

Times Union | May 11, 2015 | LTE by Sandy Steubing

As always, I appreciate the Times Union reporting on the volatile Bakken crude that comes into our city.

Physicians for Social Responsibility (via The Benicia Independent) | May 11, 2015 | Press Release

Seattle, WA – Nearly 300 doctors, nurses and other health professionals today called on Washington Governor Jay Inslee and Oregon Governor Kate Brown to deny permits for proposed new and expanded oil-by-rail facilities. The position statement based on peer-reviewed medical literature examines a broad range of public health and safety risks including air and water pollution, oil spills and clean-up, delayed emergency response, and storage tank fires and explosions. The statement to the Governors has been signed by 289 health professionals so far.

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:

The Legislative Gazette | May 11, 2015 | Column by Keith J. Ferrante

In response to widespread concern over the transportation of crude oil by rail, the U.S. Department of Transportation finalized new rules for oil trains earlier this month. The final rules were developed by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), in coordination with Canadian authorities.