Keystone Today

Washington, D.C. - On July 6, 2023, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Deputy Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Tristan Brown in support of a proposed PHMSA rule requiring railroads to make real-time information regarding the contents of train cars available to emergency responders and to proactively push this information to emergency responders in the event of a derailment or other accident. In the letter, the Senators pointed to the disastrous Norfolk Southern train derailment along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border as an example of why this policy change is needed to keep firefighters and first responders safe in times of crisis. 

Following the derailment, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held hearings in East Palestine, OH which highlighted how insufficient information-sharing policies put emergency responders in harm’s way during the derailment this past February. Hearing testimony revealed that while Norfolk Southern was able to notify contractors about the specific contents of the derailed train within minutes, it took hours for some emergency response agencies to get correct consist information. This resulted in firefighters arriving at the scene without knowing what materials were involved in the fire they had to fight, as shown by harrowing footage played during the hearing. 

The Senators wrote, “The brave first responders who put their lives on the line to protect their communities during train derailments should not have to deal with both hazardous conditions and an intentional lack of critical information...we owe it to the first responders of East Palestine, Darlington Township, and the surrounding areas in Ohio and Pennsylvania to ensure that the information-sharing failures of this derailment, which put first responders needlessly and irresponsibly in additional danger, do not happen again. While Congress considers additional legislative action on this issue, including the bipartisan, bicameral Railway Safety Act, we are glad to see administrative action on this issue and give this effort our full support.” 

Earlier this year, Casey, Fetterman, and Brown introduced the Assistance for Local Heroes During Train Crises Act to support first responders on the front lines of hazardous train derailments. The Senators also joined a bipartisan group to introduce the Railway Safety Act to prevent future train derailments by improving rail safety protocols and holding rail companies accountable for these disasters by increasing fines. 

Full text of the letter is below and the PDF can be found HERE. 

July 6, 2023 

Dear Secretary Buttigieg and Deputy Administrator Brown: 

We write today in strong support of the proposed rule from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) requiring railroads to share real-time train consist information with emergency responders [Docket No. PHMSA-2016-0015 (HM-263)]. The disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border demonstrated just how essential this policy change is to put firefighters and other first responders in the best position to keep their communities and themselves safe in times of crisis. 

The recent hearings held by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in East Palestine, OH have highlighted how insufficient information-sharing policies put emergency responders in harm’s way during the February 3rd derailment. During the hearing, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy noted that while Norfolk Southern notified a contractor about the specific contents of the derailed train within 12 minutes, the Columbiana County Emergency Management Agency did not get that information until an hour after the derailment. We also learned that one of the fire chiefs assisting with the derailment did not get the consist information until after 10:20 pm and that the East Palestine Police Department did not receive it until 1:30 in the morning. 1 

This delay is unacceptable. The brave first responders who put their lives on the line to protect their communities during train derailments should not have to deal with both hazardous conditions and an intentional lack of critical information. As more first-hand stories from emergency responders in East Palestine, OH and Darlington Township, PA come out, the clearer it becomes that the federal government needs to take decisive action to ensure that failures like this do not happen again. 

To that end, we are encouraged to see PHMSA issue this notice of proposed rulemaking, which is grounded in expert recommendations from the NTSB, Congressional mandates from the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, and the lived experiences of emergency responders.2 If implemented, this proposed rule could save lives. 

We owe it to the first responders of East Palestine, Darlington Township, and the surrounding areas in Ohio and Pennsylvania to ensure that the information-sharing failures of this derailment, which put first responders needlessly and irresponsibly in additional danger, do not happen again. While Congress considers additional legislative action on this issue, including the bipartisan, bicameral Railway Safety Act, we are glad to see administrative action on this issue and give this effort our full support. 

Sincerely 

Robert P. Casey, Jr 

United States Senator 

John Fetterman 

United States Senator 

Sherrod Brown 

United States Senator  

Original source can be found here.