Blumenthal Statement on New DOT Tank Car Safety Rules

(Hartford, CT) – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) today issued the following statement on the Obama Administration’s new rules for tank cars carrying crude oil and ethanol:

“In recent years, we have seen a host of horrifying derailments in the U.S. and Canada involving trains carrying hazardous, highly flammable products like crude oil and ethanol. These incidents have devastated communities and taken lives. It is critical that these mile-long traveling pipelines – which are only increasing in number as U.S. energy production soars – be safe and equipped with the latest, most advanced technology to ensure they’re no longer posing a significant and dangerous threat.

“I am encouraged that both our Secretary of Transportation and Canada’s Transportation Minister have put forward new rules today to enhance the safety of trains carrying hazardous liquids in North America. In the U.S., this means measures that are similar to much of what I have sought legislatively, including phasing out weak, decades-old tank cars, requiring better braking technology, implementing speed restrictions on routes carrying flammable substances, and improving information sharing with emergency responders. But these measures may not be enough, so I am reviewing the rules closely to see what more must be done – such as requiring increased inspections and requiring railroads to have comprehensive oil spill response plans to clean up communities when accidents occur – and I will continue to work with my colleagues to minimize the dangers of carrying crude by rail.”