The East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment has prompted more scrutiny of federal rail regulations, including a push for legislation that would require freight operators to be more transparent about any hazardous materials they are carrying.
Momentum for new regulations comes after a 150-car train derailed in Eastern Ohio earlier this month while carrying at least five hazardous chemicals, which were subsequently released into the air as officials scrambled to avoid an explosion.
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During a press conference earlier this week, Gov. Mike DeWine (R) called on Congress to change requirements for the hazardous trains on Tuesday, noting that the failure to classify it as a “high hazardous material” train prevented officials from knowing what dangerous chemicals the train was carrying when it derailed on Feb. 3.
Some lawmakers have urged the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to take action, including by re-imposing a rule on ECP, or electronically controlled pneumatic brakes, on trains carrying petroleum and other hazardous materials to help them stop more quickly than conventional air braking systems.
The rules were proposed by the Obama administration in 2015 but rescinded two years later under the Trump administration.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) said this week that he would call on Congress to draft legislation on the issue.
“I don’t want to let Congress off the hook here because Congress can legislate a solution to this problem, and that’s exactly what I’m going to try to do,” Vance said Thursday in East Palestine, saying lawmakers “should have some legislation coming out to that effect here in the next few days.”
“But look, the Department of Transportation can act on this issue too … [to] implement regulations that would have these trains declared high hazardous,” he added.
He also called on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to stop blaming former President Donald Trump for the Department of Transportation’s slow response.
“The Department of Transportation, your Department of Transportation, has things it can do. Stop blaming Donald Trump, a guy who hasn’t been president for three years, and use the powers of the federal government to do the things necessary to help people in this community,” Vance said.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said Thursday night that the ECP rules would not have prevented the derailment, however — noting that the issue was one with the train’s classification.
The braking rule would have applied only applied to trains classified as “high hazardous material” trains, she said, noting that the Norfolk Southern train was classified as a “mixed freight” train and, therefore, not required to submit to that law.
“Some are saying the [ECP] brake rule, if implemented, would’ve prevented this derailment,” she said, dismissing those allegations as “FALSE.”
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said yesterday that he and Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) are looking into efforts to boost transparency for rail operators, including requiring them to list hazardous materials listed on the side of train cars— an effort that he acknowledged might require a change in federal law.
“We’re going to try to get FRA [the Federal Rail Association] or NTSB to do it, but we think it might require a change in federal law,” he told reporters at a press conference with Johnson and EPA Administrator Michael Regan. “Bill and I will work on that,” he added.
Asked for comment, Johnson’s office said that it would explore what, if any, policy changes might be pursued only after the federal investigation is complete.
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“At this point, we need to let the investigators with the NTSB do their job and determine the cause of this crash,” Johnson said.
“Once their investigation is complete, Congress and the administration must take a close look at the findings to determine what policies to modify and/or implement to better prevent anything like this from happening again,” Johnson said.
