Joint Rule Requires Truck Clearance At Grade Crossings

The USDOT's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) have jointly issued a final rule that prohibits truck drivers carrying certain hazardous materials "from entering onto a highway-rail grade crossing unless there is sufficient space to drive completely through the grade crossing without stopping." The rule was published yesterday, and takes effect on October 25, 2013.

The intent of the rule is of course to reduce highway-rail grade crossing crashes, and amends 49 CFR parts 177 and 392, specifically a revision to 49 CFR 177.804, and the creation of 49 CFR 392.12.

The new requirements apply to vehicles transporting a quantify of hazardous materials requiring placarding under 49 CFR 172, or any amount of a material listed as a toxin under 42 CFR 73.

GAO Agrees Railroads Won't Meet 2015 Positive Train Control Deadline

The Government Accountability Office (GOA) released a report yesterday on the status of the implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) systems on major freight and commuter railroads. The Report, attached here, was prepared at the request of Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and was originally provided to him on August 16, 2013.

The GAO's findings, and recommendations, mirror what the FRA determined one year ago in the FRA's own report to congress on PTC implementation. According to the most recent GAO report, only one major railroad, BNSF, will meet the current statutory deadline of 2015 for PTC. The GAO even doubts industry estimates by the AAR that compliance could be accomplished by the end of 2018.

GAO recommends that Congress amend the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) to permit the FRA to:

(1) extend PTC deadlines on individual rail lines, and grant incremental extensions on a case-by-case basis;

(2) grant provisional certification of PTC systems under controlled conditions before final system certification (to address the concern of delays in certification following compliance deadlines caused by FRA resource limitations);

(3) approve the use of alternative safety technologies in lieu of PTC if PTC functions can be met by other means.

Bi-Partisan House WRRDA Bill Rolled Out

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has rolled out the long-awaited Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA, formerly WRDA - "reform" is new) yesterday. Bill H.R. 3080 is sponsored by Chair Bill Shuster (R-PA), Nick Rahall, Committee Ranking Member (D-WV), and Bob Gibbs (R-OH) and Tim Bishop (D-NY), both members of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee.

The public relations blitz surrounding the bill's release is impressive, consisting of a press conference, press release, a colorful summary of the bill's expected accomplishments, as well as a "white-board" video, narrated by Chairman Shuster extoling the benefits of the waterways to the U.S. economy and the virtues of the proposed bill. Finally, a full text of HR 3080 is attached here.

This legislation, if passed, would be the first WRDA bill since 2007. Among the reform provisions are a deadline and monetary cap on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' studies, a streamlining of environmental reviews, and reform of the Harbor Maintenance Tax Trust Fund and the Inland Waterways Trust Fund. For the HMTF, the bill sets target expenditures of up to 80% of HMT revenue by 2020. For the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF), the bill caps expenditure for the never-ending money pit Olmstead lock and dam project at 25% annual cost-share, freeing up IWTF funds for other inland projects. The bill also expresses the "sense of congress" that the annual appropriation for the Olmstead project should be no less than $150 million per year until completed (Sec. 213(3)).

Other interesting aspects of the bill include the funding mechanism, potential operation function of corps facilities by private parties (Sec. 225), and a mandate for the corps to inventory its property not essential to its mission which could be sold. The funding mechanism is to use $12 billion for projects funded before the 2007 WRDA bill which have not started, which the bill Summary somewhat euphemistically describes as "fully offsets new authorizations with deauthorizations."

The bill also creates a "Water Infrastructure Public Private Partnership Program" to encourage private participation in USACE projects, as well as creating an "Inland Waterways Stakeholder Roundtable" to address the needs of the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, and support the needs of the Inland Waterways System. (Sec. 215).

Actual action on this an ambitious attempt to fund port and inland waterway structure will of course remain to be seen given the looming fiscal and debt ceiling crises Congress faces.

Rail Safety Advisory Committee Holds Emergency Meeting on Haz Mat

Yesterday, the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Rail Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC), met to consider additional regulatory or other safety measures in response to the Lac-Megantic, Quebec incident in June. The emergency meeting follows the issuance of an Emergency Order and Safety Advisory on August 2, 2013 - see here for my prior post on those issues, and links to the Order and Safety Advisory.

The attached press release from the FRA states the RSAC has accepted four tasks: appropriate crew size, requirements for securing trains, operational testing of employees to ensure compliance with rules, and issues relating to the operational control and handling of hazardous materials in transportation. The RSAC will now establish working groups to address the tasks which will propose recommendations to FRA in April 2014.

FRA Follows Suit with Emergency Order on Haz Mat Train Operations

Following the emergency rules issued by Transport Canada ( see my 7/30/13 post here ) the FRA issued an Emergency Order on Friday with similar requirements.

The FRA Emergency Order and Safety Advisory calling for as yet to be scheduled Rail Safety Advisory Committee meeting, are effective immediately and are in direct response to the Lac Megantic disaster in Quebec. Though the FRA Order notes that neither Transport Canada nor the Canadian Transportation Safety Board has determined a cause of the Lac Megantic derailment, the FRA Order clearly focuses on the securement of unattended trains. The FRA Order prohibits haz mat trains from being left unattended outside of yards or terminals unless authorized, and requires communication between train crews and dispatchers about how trains are secured (including tonnage and number of hand brakes applied) if a train is left unattended.

The FRA Order also requires railroads to have qualified employees inspect rail equipment which emergency responders have been on before leaving a train unattended, which is a nod toward the theory that actions of firefighters had some role in the Lac Megantic breakaway train. Prior to the train rolling away, a fire in a locomotive had been extinguished by local authorities.

Unlike the Canadian emergency rule, the FRA Order does not immediately mandate minimum 2 man crews on haz mat trains, rather, the Safety Advisory notes that crew size will be a task discussed at the forthcoming meeting of the RSAC.

Environmental Groups Sue Over Coal Export Financing

A coalition of environmental advocacy groups has sued the U.S. Export-Import Bank in an effort to void the Bank's $90 million loan guarantee to support the export of Appalachian coal primarily from ports in Baltimore and Hampton Roads, VA. The action, CV-13-3532, filed in federal court in San Francisco, was brought by various environmental groups including the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and the Sierra Club.

Arguing that the transport, storage, and loading of coal creates dust, as well as exhaust from train and ship engines, the suit seeks to void the loan guarantee to coal broker Xcoal for the claimed failure of the Ex-Im Bank to perform an Environmental Impact Statement or analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Here is a news account describing the suit from the Baltimore Sun.

Transport Canada Prohibits One-Person Crews on Haz Mat Trains

In response to the derailment and subsequent disaster in Lac Megantic, Quebec, Canada's Transportation regulatory agency, Transport Canada, has issued 6 Emergency Directives. Among the new emergency rules are requirements that all unattended controlling locomotives on main tracks and sidings have their cabs protected from unauthorized access, and that railroads ensure handbrake rules under the Canadian Rail Operating Rules are complied with when a locomotive attached to one or more cars is left unattended for more than an hour. The Directive also prohibits locomotives coupled to cars carrying "dangerous goods" (i.e. Canada's term for hazardous materials) from being left unattended on a main track. Regarding crew size, every locomotive coupled to one or more haz mat cars transporting dangerous goods, must be operated by no fewer than two qualified crew members. Here is a link to the Canadian Transportation Safety Board's "active investigation" page about the incident.