Here & Now

U.S. Sen. Baldwin Describes Federal Push For Safer Railways

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

FIRST, IT’S BEEN A WEEK SINCE TWO SEPARATE FREIGHT TRAINS DERAILED IN WISCONSIN. ONE IN ALMA THAT RESULTED IN A 20,000 GALLON ETHANOL SPILL. THE OTHER WAS IN WATERTOWN WHERE HUNDREDS OF GALLONS OF CRUDE OIL LEAKED. THIS WEEK, SENATOR BALDWIN CALLED FOR HOUSE AND SENATE CONFERENCE COMMITTEES TO TAKE UP SEVERAL NEW OIL TRAIN MEASURES. THURSDAY, THE SENATOR BALDWIN TOURED THE ALMA SITE. THIS AFTERNOON, SHE WAS IN WATERTOWN. ZAC SCHULTZ INTERVIEWED TAMMY BALDWIN ON THE WAY THROUGH THE STATE.

ZAC SCHULTZ:

WELL, SENATOR BALDWIN, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY.

TAMMY BALDWIN:

IT IS A PLEASURE. THANK YOU.

ZAC SCHULTZ:

NOW YOU ARE IN THE PROCESS OF VISITING BOTH OF THESE DERAILMENT SITES. WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO LEARN FROM A FIRST-HAND LOOK?

TAMMY BALDWIN:

WELL, CERTAINLY WE WANT TO LEARN EVERYTHING WE CAN TO PREVENT FURTHER DERAILMENTS. AND CERTAINLY IT COULD HAVE BEEN FAR WORSE THAN IT WAS IN EITHER OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES. AT THE SAME TIME, WE ARE TRYING TO STRENGTHEN RAIL SAFETY POLICY AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL AND TAKING LESSONS LEARNED IN WISCONSIN BACK TO WASHINGTON IN ORDER TO STRENGTHEN THOSE RULES AND THOSE LAWS. IN SOME WAYS YOU CAN SAY WE DODGED A BULLET IN TWO DERAILMENTS IN WISCONSIN THIS PAST WEEKEND, BUT IT REMINDS US AS VOLATILE CRUDE OIL IS BROUGHT THROUGH THE STATE OF WISCONSIN EVERY DAY THAT WE NEED TO BE VERY, VERY VIGILANT.

ZAC SCHULTZ:

NOW YOU DO HAVE FEDERAL LEGISLATION THAT YOU HAVE SPONSORED AND PASSED THE SENATE AT ONE POINT. WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT ABOUT THESE INCIDENTS OVER THE WEEKEND IF THAT HAD BEEN IN PLACE?

TAMMY BALDWIN:

YEAH. WELL, LET ME START BY DESCRIBING WHAT WE’RE DEBATING RIGHT NOW IN CONGRESS. WE ARE PASSING A LONG-TERM TRANSPORTATION ACT. AND, I, EARLIER THIS SUMMER INSERTED TWO RAIL SAFETY PROVISIONS. ONE THAT GIVES FIRST RESPONDERS ADVANCE WARNING WHEN HAZARDOUS MATERIALS ARE COMING THROUGH THEIR COMMUNITY. IN THIS CASE, IN EACH OF THESE DERAILMENTS, WE HAD HEROIC ACTION BY FIRST RESPONDERS. BUT THEY DID NOT KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE RESPONDING TO. AND I THINK YOU NEED TO HAVE THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT, THE RIGHT TRAINING, THE RIGHT KNOWLEDGE. YOU NEED TO KNOW WHETHER TO EVACUATE RESIDENTS IN THE AREA. WE NEED ADVANCE WARNING, AND REALTIME INFORMATION FOR OUR FIRST RESPONDERS. AND SO ONE OF THE PROVISIONS EARLIER THIS SUMMER THAT I HAD INSERTED IN THE SENATE PASS TRANSPORTATION BILL PROVIDED THAT ADVANCE WARNING.

SECONDLY, WE HAVE A LOT OF CONCERN ABOUT THE RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE, PARTICULARLY WITH BRIDGES. AND I HAVE BEEN CONTACTED BY NUMEROUS LOCAL OFFICIALS WANTING TO SEE THE INSPECTION REPORTS ON BRIDGES IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. IN MILWAUKEE, THE FIRST STREET BRIDGE PASSES THROUGH THE AREA APPROXIMATE TO VERY DENSELY POPULATED RESIDENTIAL AREA. AND THE BRIDGE IS 100 YEARS OLD. BUT RIGHT NOW EVEN THE FEDERAL RAILWAY ADMINISTRATION CAN’T ACCESS THESE REPORTS. THEY CAN AUDIT THEM. THEY CAN VIEW THEM, BUT THEY CAN’T ACCESS THEM AND SHARE THEM WITH CONCERNED LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS. SO THE OTHER PROVISION REQUIRES THAT THE RAILWAYS TURN OVER THIS INFORMATION TO REGULATORS ON THIS CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE THAT RUNS THROUGH COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT WISCONSIN. WE ARE HOPING THAT AS WE NEGOTIATE A FINAL BILL FOR TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE CAN PERSUADE THE THOUSANDS ADOPT THOSE TWO PROVISIONS. I THINK IN MANY WAYS, ESPECIALLY THE ADVANCE WARNING TO FIRST RESPONDERS MIGHT HAVE HAD A REALLY BIG IMPACT ON THESE DERAILMENTS, BUT CERTAINLY IN FUTURE COULD SAVE LIVES.

ZAC SCHULTZ:

DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE SAFER OVERALL TO USE A PIPELINE TO DISTRIBUTE CRUDE OIL, OR ARE TRAINS STILL THE BEST METHOD?

TAMMY BALDWIN:

I DON’T THINK IT’S ONE VERSUS THE OTHER. WE ARE GOING TO RELY ON BOTH INFRASTRUCTURES TO GET CRUDE OIL OUT OF THE BAKKEN REGION. LET ME SET THE CONTEXT: FIVE YEARS AGO, THERE WAS HARDLY EVER AN OIL TRAIN COMING THROUGH WISCONSIN. AND WITH THE DISCOVERY OF THE CRUDE OIL IN THE BAKKEN REGION OF NORTH DAKOTA, WE NOW HAVE OVER 40 TRAINS COMING THROUGH WISCONSIN A WEEK. WE ALSO HAVE PIPELINES. AND IN FACT, THERE IS AN EFFORT TO DOUBLE THE CAPACITY OF ONE OF THE PIPELINES THAT GOES THROUGH THE STATE OF WISCONSIN. BUT, WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO RELY ON ALL OF THAT INFRASTRUCTURE. GIVEN THE FACT THAT MUCH OF IT COMES BY TRAIN, WE HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO ASSURE THE SAFETY OF THOSE TRAINS. AND IN ADDITION TO THE LEGISLATION WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT: THE TWO PROVISIONS AND THE TRANSPORTATION ACT. THE CRUDE BY RAIL SAFETY ACT THAT I SPONSOR WOULD TAKE A NUMBER OF OTHER VERY VITAL STEPS TO INSURE THE SAFETY OF WISCONSIN RESIDENTS.

ZAC SCHULTZ:

NOW THERE ARE SOME BILLS BEING PROPOSED IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE. DO THOSE OVERLAP OR DO YOU THINK THERE’S A ROLE FOR FEDERAL LAW AND STATE LAW TO BE UPDATED?

TAMMY BALDWIN:

CERTAINLY I THINK THERE’S A ROLE FOR BOTH. MUCH OF THE RAILROADS ARE REGULATED AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, SO WE ARE PINPOINTING ISSUES THAT DEAL WITH INTERSTATE COMMERCE, THAT DEAL WITH THE FACT THAT THE RAILS GO ACROSS STATE LINES. AND SOME OF THAT CAN ONLY BE DONE AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL. BUT THERE IS WELCOME ACTION NEEDED AT THE STATE LEVEL, TOO. I AM GLAD THEY ARE PRIORITIZING THE ISSUE.

ZAC SCHULTZ:

ALL RIGHT.THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TODAY, SENATOR.

TAMMY BALDWIN:

MY PLEASURE.