Secretary Foxx: DOT to Send Draft Rule to White House Next Week Including Tougher Railcar Standards for Crude Oil and Ethanol
On Thursday, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced he would send the White House a draft rule to enhance the safety of railcars used to transport crude oil and ethanol next week. The announcement came during Secretary Foxx’s visit to Casselton, N.D., the site of a derailment and explosion of Bakken crude oil in December.
The draft rule will be the latest in a line of efforts to improve safety of crude-by-rail, including DOT’s February 25 emergency order, amended and restated on March 6, which mandates that all persons who offer crude oil for transportation in commerce within the United States “ensure that [it] is properly tested and classed in accordance with 49 CFR parts 172 and 173.” The order also prohibits shipping crude oil by rail as a Packing Group III hazardous material.
