OLYMPIA – In the first week of the 2015 Legislative Session, Sen. Christine Rolfes of Bainbridge Island and Sen. Kevin Ranker introduced Governor Jay Inslee’s requested oil transportation legislation to the state Senate.
The bill is SB 5087.
“Unprecedented amounts of oil are traveling along the rails of Washington state, through our rural areas and downtowns and along our coastlines,” said Rolfes, a Kitsap County Democrat and 23rd District lawmaker.
“Right now, it is impacted communities and the taxpayers of Washington who bear all of the risk and responsibility in the event of an accident. This legislation simply shifts some of the burden of spill prevention and response onto those that profit from oil transportation,” she said.
How to address increasing oil transportation has been an ongoing debate in Washington and across North America in recent years.
The two senators noted that North Dakota and the Bakken region of Canada are experiencing an oil boom, and spills and explosions have followed as a result of substandard rail cars and flagging regulation and industry oversight.
Approximately 60 million gallons of volatile crude oil passes through Washington state every week, and over a million gallons of crude oil was spilled from trains in North America in 2013, more than the previous 30 years combined. Numerous explosions also occurred, including the explosion in Quebec that killed 47 people.
“For the safety and health of our communities, it’s imperative we give first responders all the information they need to best prepare themselves to respond and contain a spill or derailment to prevent a worst case scenario,” said Ranker (D-Orcas Island). “We will not sit idly by and let a city in Washington join the list of those devastated by an oil train fire or vessel spill.”
Although the federal government alone has the authority to impose many safety measures, states do have control over some key aspects related to transparency, accountability and taxation. A study was conducted in 2014 to evaluate the risks associated with the vast increase of oil transported by rail through Washington, with many of the recommendations included in the Rolfes-Lanker bill. The final report is expected in March.
“Transparency and safety need to be the focus of our efforts here in Olympia,” said Sen. John McCoy of Tulalip, ranking Democrat on the Energy, Environment & Telecommunications committee. “We can’t put the interests of the oil industry over the safety of our impacted communities.”
“This is not a theoretical problem,” Rolfes added. “We know derailments and oil spills will happen. For the safety of our communities and economy, as well as the preservation of our environment, we need to pass this bill.”
The bill has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.
