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Washington Chlorine-Train Ban Could be Near By Joe Fiorill WASHINGTON — City lawmakers here plan to introduce an emergency bill tomorrow that would immediately ban chlorine shipments by rail through the capital (see GSN, Jan. 20). District of Columbia Council members Kathy Patterson and Phil Mendelson are claiming support from at least nine of the panel’s 13 members for a permanent bill barring chlorine shipments. That number would be sufficient to pass the temporary emergency legislation, but some members who support the main bill could balk at backing the emergency version, Mendelson spokesman Alec Evans said today. If at least nine members support the emergency measure tomorrow, a 4.4 mile-wide “Capitol exclusion zone” with the U.S. Capitol at its center would immediately go into effect. The zone would contain all the city’s major rail lines, and the bill would remain in effect for three months. Rail and truck shipments of certain hazardous materials through the zone would be allowed only upon receipt of a difficult-to-obtain permit certifying that other alternatives would be “cost-prohibitive.” Fines for shipping banned materials without a permit would be $10,000 for a first offense and $25,000 thereafter. Mayor Anthony Williams has repeatedly expressed his support for the legislation. “We introduce this bill to eliminate a grave and immediate danger faced by residents of the District of Columbia: the threat that terrorists might attack a large-volume shipment of ultrahazardous materials transported through the district, causing a massive explosion and/or release of toxic chemicals,” Patterson said at a Friday press conference. “There is no reason to continue providing terrorists with the opportunity to create a release of toxic chemicals over a singularly attractive terrorist target,” Patterson said. “Indeed, the only reason such dangerous chemical shipments do pass within blocks of the Capitol appears to be historical happenstance.” The release of chlorine gas, which has a history of use as a chemical weapon, from a tanker on the rails that pass through the center of Washington could quickly cause tens of thousands of deaths, according to a 2003 study by a U.S. Naval Research Laboratory scientist. The current status of rail operator CSX’s shipments of the materials through Washington is unclear. Council members have said a company representative revealed at a closed-door Nov. 4, 2004, briefing that CSX had implemented a temporary policy of rerouting the trains to avoid the city but gave few details (see GSN, Jan. 12). Patterson said Friday that there is no way to know whether CSX is still diverting the trains, a fact she said demonstrates the need for a legislated ban. Patterson and Mendelson have tried repeatedly to pass a ban but have met with opposition, notably from council Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Carol Schwartz. Schwartz Chief of Staff John Abbot said today that the councilwoman would maintain her opposition. Schwartz could work to persuade supporters of the permanent bill not to back the emergency version and could use her committee chair to stymie progress on the permanent plan, Mendelson spokesman Evans said. Permanent legislation requires only seven supporters to pass but involves a longer and more complicated legislative process. Schwartz opposes shipments of the materials through Washington but has shunned new legislation in favor of CSX’s voluntary measures. She has expressed fears that, since the capital city’s laws are uniquely subject to federal pre-emption, legislation on the matter could backfire. Ban supporters have seen their hand strengthened by the arrival of like-minded new council members following elections in November and by two recent deadly incidents: a chlorine-train derailment in South Carolina (see GSN, Jan. 10) that killed nine people, and a passenger-train crash last week in Los Angeles that was caused by a suicidal man who parked his truck on the tracks. The bill is also supported by a new brief from law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr that refutes many claims of legal impediments to passing such legislation. “There won’t be a successful legal challenge,” Patterson said. Greenpeace Toxics Campaign Legislative Director Rick Hind said Friday that, in the absence of U.S. Homeland Security Department action to stop the shipments through Washington, the city is forced to act. “Tuesday’s council meeting will be the final test of whether the district will step up and face its responsibilities to protect the people of the district and, in fact, national security,” Hind said.
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