Last month, Rep Johnson (R,OH) introduced HR 1633, the Reducing Accidents in Locomotives (RAIL) Act. Another in a series of legislative attempts to address the railroad hazardous material safety concerns that arose after the East Palestine derailment. Addresses a number of different issues and includes additional funding authorization for first responder hazmat training.
The bill addresses the following topics:
Regulatory response,
Rail car inspections,
Defect detectors,
Increasing civil penalties,
Safer tank cars, and
First responder hazmat training
Regulatory Response
Section 3 of the bill would require DOT to issue or modify regulations based upon the NTSB report about the East Palestine derailment for rail train consists containing hazardous materials, but are not covered by the current regulations (49 CFR 174.310) on high hazard flammable trains. In addition to responding to NTSB recommendations, the regulations would require railroads to:
Provide advance notification and information regarding the transportation of hazardous materials to each State emergency response commissioner, the tribal emergency response commission, or any other State or tribal agency responsible for receiving the information notification for emergency response planning information,
Include, in the notification provided a written gas discharge plan with respect to the applicable hazardous materials being transported, and
Reduce or eliminate blocked crossings resulting from delays in train movements.
Additionally, the regulatory changes would address:
Train length and weight,
Train consist,
Route analysis and selection,
Speed restrictions,
Track standards,
Track, bridge, and rail car maintenance,
Signaling and train control, and
Response plans.
Rail Car Inspections
Section 4 of the bill would address the issue of rail car inspections in two separate schemes. The first would require DOT to conduct two separate regulator actions addressing rail car inspection requirements. The first of these would require DOT to review and update existing regulations to:
Create minimum time requirements that a qualified mechanical inspector must spend when inspecting a rail car or locomotive, and
Ensure that all rail cars and locomotives in train consists that carry hazardous materials are inspected by a qualified mechanical inspector at intervals determined by the Secretary.
The second regulatory action would be for DOT to make a change to 49 CFR 215.13(c) to specifically authorize “an abbreviated pre-departure inspection procedure” when an inspector designated under §215.11 is not on duty for the purpose of inspecting freight cars. Paragraph (c) currently requires an inspection of the items listed in Appendix D to Part 215; the bill does not specify which of the listed items would be exempted under an ‘abbreviated pre-departure inspection procedure’.
The second way that §4 addresses rail car inspections would be to require periodic audits of the Federal rail car inspection programs under part 215 conducted by railroads. The purpose of such audits would be to:
Consider whether such programs are in compliance with part 215 requirements,
Assess the type and content of training and performance metrics that such programs provide rail car inspectors,
Determine whether such programs provide inspectors with adequate time to inspect rail cars,
Determine whether such programs reflect the current operating practices of the railroad carrier, and
Ensure that such programs are not overly reliant on train crews.
Defect Detectors
Section 5 would require another regulatory action by DOT, this time requiring that DOT issue “regulations establishing requirements for the installation, repair, testing, maintenance, and operation of wayside defect detectors for each rail carrier operating a train consist carrying hazardous materials.” Such regulations would include requirements regarding:
The frequency of the placement of wayside defect detectors, including a requirement that all Class I railroads install a hotbox detector along every 10-mile segment of rail track over which trains carrying hazardous materials operate,
Performance standards for such detectors,
The maintenance and repair requirements for such detectors,
Reporting data and maintenance records of such detectors,
Appropriate steps the rail carrier must take when receiving an alert of a defect or failure from or regarding a wayside defect detector; and
The use of hotbox detectors to prevent derailments from wheel bearing failures (including specifying alert temperatures and minimum actions to be taken upon receiving an alert).
The wayside defect detectors discussed above would be capable of identifying defects and failures in:
Axles,
Wheel bearings,
Brakes,
Signals,
Wheel impacts, and
Other defects or failures specified by the Secretary.
Subsection (d) is more than a little out of place in this section. It would require DOT to revise regulations under 49 CFR 172.519 specify that hazardous material placards on railcars “be able to withstand heat in excess of 180 degrees” or higher temperatures if recommended by the NTSB. As a chemist I am amused by the fact that the crafters of this bill failed to designate whether that was ‘degrees F’ or ‘degrees C’, or perhaps even ‘degrees K’.
Increasing Civil Penalties
Section 6 would make changes to various sections of 49 USC raising the maximum penalties for hazmant transportation regulation violations generally and basing the new maximums on the annual operating income of companies (or maximum income of individuals). The following sections of 49 USC would be amended:
Safer Tank Cars
Section 7 would change the phase out date for DOT-111 railcars in flammable liquid service to May 1st, 2028. This would have the effect of requiring DOT to revise 49 CFR 173.243; re-allowing DOT-111 railcars (phased out in 2018) to be used for the transportation of unrefined petroleum products until that date, and extending the phase out date for PG 1 Class 3 flammable liquids from May 1st, 2025 to the new 2028 date.
Hazmat Training
Section 8 would amend 49 USC 5108(g) adding a new hazardous material registration fee for Class 1 railroads of $1 million. Those funds would be added to the existing funding for the Alert Grant Program authorized by 49 USC 5116(j) for Local Emergency Response Training. That program is being expanded by §8(b) for all flammable materials instead of just flammable liquids.
Moving Forward
Johnson is not a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration, but one of his ten cosponsors {Rep Sykes (D,OH)} is a member of the Committee. This means that there may be sufficient influence to see the bill considered in Committee. This bill appears to have been crafted to avoid some of the Republican opposition to rail safety measures and that is reflected in the number of Republicans who have signed on to the bill sponsored by a Republican. I still think that the additional $1 million dollar hazmat registration fee being proposed for Class 1 Railroads will bring significant Republican opposition, but the other compromises may be enough to see this move forward in Committee with some level of bipartisan support (and bipartisan opposition), but I do not think that the support will be wide enough to allow the bill to be considered under the suspension of rules process.