Greens sue for stronger oil train rules

Environmental groups are suing the Obama administration, saying regulators’ new standards for crude oil transportation by rail are not nearly strong enough.

Earthjustice filed the lawsuit on behalf of ForestEthics, Sierra Club, the Waterkeeper Alliance, the Center for Biological Diversity and various local Washington state groups Thursday, two weeks after the Department of Transportation unveiled the rules. The environmentalists cited a North Dakota oil train disaster this month.

{mosads}“The Department of Transportation’s weak oil train standard just blew up in its face on the plains of North Dakota last week,” Earthjustice attorney Patti Goldman said in a statement.

“Pleas from the public, reinforced by the National Transportation Safety Board, to stop hauling explosive crude in these tank cars have fallen on deaf ears, leaving people across the country vulnerable to catastrophic accidents,” she said.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx unveiled the rules May 1, calling them a comprehensive set of standards aimed at stopping oil train disasters on various fronts including new tank car standards, braking rules and operational regulations.

Greens specifically objected to the phase-out plan for old tank cars that they say could take 10 years, the lack of public notification requirements for oil train movements, weak retrofit standards and speed limits that don’t go far enough.

“The Department of Transportation got it wrong with its so-called safety regulations for oil tank cars. Rather than accept these wholly inadequate rules, which jeopardize health and safety of communities along rail lines, the administration should have forbidden bomb trains outright,” Lena Moffitt, director of the Sierra Club’s Dirty Fuels campaign, said in the statement.

The rules are now under attack from both sides. The oil industry filed a lawsuit earlier this week, saying some of the standards, including the phaseout timeline, are too strict.