Why Won't the Federal Government Investigate the Oregon Oil Train Fire?

Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden are demanding inspections of every major oil train derailment.

In the wake of an oil-train fire in the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden unveiled a new bill yesterday that demands federal investigators inspect every major oil train derailment.

The bill would also clarify the authority of federal transport administrations to put a moratorium on oil trains following an accident.

The bill comes a month after a Union Pacific train derailed in Mosier, Ore., leaking 42,000 gallons of crude oil into the soil, wastewater system and Columbia River. Fittingly, the new bill is named the Mandate Oil Spill Inspections and Emergency Rules, or MOSIER Act.

"As Oregon has seen firsthand, these oil trains are rolling explosion hazards," said Merkley in yesterday's press release introducing the bill.

Since the Mosier incident, the Oregon senators and Gov. Kate Brown have repeatedly called upon federal authorities to take steps to prevent future oil train derailments. The new bill is seemingly spurred by the federal administrations' lack of action in response.

The National Transportation Safety Board declined to investigate the derailment in Mosier, prompting Wyden and Merkley to write a letter to the board last month saying that "the NTSB would have brought a vital perspective to investigations being carried out by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Oregon Department of Transportation."

In its response to Merkley and Wyden's letter, the NTSB cited a lack of resources as a reason they didn't investigate.

Last month, Gov. Kate Brown called on federal regulators to institute a moratorium on oil trains in the state after the accident, but she received little response.

"This bill ensures that federal authorities can stop trains after a major derailment until a thorough investigation has been completed, and that the NTSB has ample resources to closely examine the root causes of such a crash," said Wyden in yesterday's press release.

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