February 28, 2019
By Marie Schlagel, Program Coordinator
On Feb. 27, Sierra Club hosted an Action Night to stand up against oil trains! Ryan Riffenhouse, from Friends of the Columbia Gorge, spoke in detail about the 2016 oil train tragedy in small town Mosier, OR and how oil companies continue to endanger our communities and the wildlands we love. Last night, twenty-seven people braved the cold to learn more about the dangers of oil trains and how we can all contact our state legislators for stricter oil train regulations in Oregon.
Three years after Mosier, Oregon still has the weakest oil train regulation laws in the U.S. west coast. We must act immediately to hold oil and railroad companies accountable. Several bills pending in the Oregon Legislature address oil train safety, including Senate Bill 99 and its companion, House Bill 2858. Any bill that passes should include:
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DEQ review and approval of contingency plans and training for oil train-related spills
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Fees on railroads to improve oil spill response and establish funding for emergency preparedness
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Adequate insurance for railroads to cover true worst-case oil train derailments and oil spills
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24-hour notice for oil trains
(Note that there are three additional oil train bills are pending, including HB 2209, which is supported by the railroads. These bills lack requirements that are critical to protecting Oregon's communities and waterways from the next derailment and oil spill. Any attempt to move HB 2209 or other bills as the oil train safety solution in Oregon should incorporate the above requirements from HB 2838 and SB 99.)
If you missed yesterday’s Action Night, you can still take action from wherever you are RIGHT NOW! Leave a voicemail for your State Senator and State Representative.
“Hello! This is _______ and I’m a constituent of yours in _________. I’m calling to urge you to take strong action on oil trains in the 2019 session. HB 2858 is a good start, but we really need provisions like those in SB 99 if we’re going make a meaningful difference. Please make sure the oil trains legislation is as strong as possible.”
If you want to leave more detailed suggestions, here are the essential elements that we would want to see:
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Funding: "It is important for the railroads and/or oil companies to fund this work rather than general fund/taxpayers. We need stable and adequate funding, and a fee assessment per mile of track appears to be the most stable source of funding."
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Amend the “worst case spill” definition. Adopt Washington’s rule defining it as the entire train’s load and fuel, with discretion given to DEQ to define.
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Implementation timing: it needs to be sooner than Jan. 1, 2020 as currently written. We suggest 90 days after the bill’s passage and Governor’s signature.
Additional actions you can take from home:
Create a chorus of action-takers! Text or call 5 of your friends/family/neighbors and ask them to call their legislators and ask for strong oil train safety legislation, using the messaging above.
Upcoming events to take action in the legislative process!
Deadline to submit comments on HB2020 (Clean Energy Jobs bill):
Saturday, March 2
Send to the whole committee as well as the committee chairs: jccr.exhibits@oregonlegislature.gov, Sen.MichaelDembrow@oregonlegislature.gov, and Rep.KarinPower@oregonlegislature.gov
Oregon Conservation Network (OCN) Lobby Day
Salem
Thursday, March 21
More info & RSVP: olcv.org/events/#lobbyday
