PA Lawmakers Call For Regulations In The Wake Of Train Derailment

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A delegation of Pennsylvania lawmakers on Friday sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation calling for the formal suspension of the rule allowing the transportation of liquid gas by rail.

The letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is in response to the Feb. 3 derailment of the train carrying hazardous vinyl chloride through the Ohio-Pennsylvania border town of East Palestine, Ohio.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Commission in August 2020 adopted a rule allowing the transportation of liquid gas on tank cars with enhanced outer tank requirements.

The U.S. Reps signing the letter were Chrissy Houlahan, representing Chester and portions of Berks counties; Brendan Boyle, representing portions of Philadelphia and Montgomery counties; Dwight Evans, representing Philadelphia.

Also, Madeleine Dean, representing Montgomery and Philadelphia counties; Mary Gay Scanlon, representing Delaware County; Susan Wild, representing the Lehigh Valley; and Matt Cartwright, representing counties in northeastern Pennsylvania.

“The East Palestine derailment is a reminder of the pressing need for stricter regulation on the transportation of hazardous materials,” Houlahan said.

Kimberly Ong, senior attorney of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group based in New York City and Washington D.C., said the agency applauds the members of Congress joining together to ask the Biden Administration to permanently set aside that ill-considered rule.

“We must act now to protect residents and first responders from the growing threat of trains carrying liquid natural gas, oil, chemicals, or any explosive or hazardous substances, and move toward a cleaner, safer way of life,” said David Masur, executive director of PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center, Philadelphia.