Comprehensive DOT Rail Regulations

Floor Speech

Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, I attended a vigil in remembrance of the 47 people that lost their lives in the Lac-Megantic railway tragedy in Quebec last July. This event drew a tremendous crowd, particularly from Albany's South End residents, who see dozens of oil tank cars move and idle outside their homes on a daily basis before entering the Port of Albany.

My constituents are concerned about the potential for another fatal accident in one of our communities, as the trail of oil cars crosses over many communities that I represent. That is why I have been urging DOT all year to implement comprehensive regulations to address these safety concerns.

We need a higher safety standard on new tank car orders and an aggressive phaseout of the old DOT-111s, which have no business transporting hazardous materials. The rail industry has taken voluntary steps to account for the DOT-111's inadequacies, but higher Federal standards are still needed.

We also need to make sure shippers and oil producers are properly handling, degasifying, and classifying hazardous materials, particularly volatile Bakken crude, before it is even loaded into a tank car.

I continue to urge DOT to make these much-needed, commonsense, and meaningful steps as quickly as possible. Inaction is inexcusable.

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