Judge refuses to block D.C. hazmat ban, CSX to appeal
A federal judge Monday rejected a motion filed by CSX Transportation seeking to block the District of Columbia from implementing a law that bans certain toxic-by-inhalation hazardous materials from being transported within a two-mile radius of the U.S. Capitol.
CSX, backed by the departments of Transportation, Homeland Security and Justice, said in its suit that the city government did not have jurisdiction to regulate interstate commerce, and that rail transport would be disrupted if other localities enacted similar hazmat restrictions.
U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan refused to issue a restraining order on the grounds that Congress permits governments to take steps to protect its citizens when the federal government has not done so.
District officials want CSX to reroute the most hazardous chemical shipments that can quickly kill thousands of people, saying the proximity of the railroad line to the Capitol makes it an inviting target for terrorists.
The 90-day emergency ban, signed by Mayor Anthony Williams in February, was set to go into effect April 11. The D.C. City Council has since passed follow-on legislation for longer bans.
District officials agreed to temporarily delay enforcing the measure in order to settle their dispute and Sullivan asked the Bush administration for as much information as possible about steps being taken to prevent terrorist attacks on hazmat shipments and the extent to which rerouting created additional exposure to terrorists, as CSX and the government argued.
CSX said it would file an appeal with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn Sullivan’s ruling. The law is scheduled to go into effect Wednesday and CSX said it would abide by the rerouting requirements if the court hasn’t reached a decision by then.
A growing number of towns and cities have indicated they are closely watching the outcome of the case as they consider whether to impose bans of their own. In the past several months several well publicized train wrecks have occurred, including ones in which hazardous chemicals were released into the atmosphere killing nearby residents.
The American Association of Railroads criticized Sullivan’s decision, saying a ban “would make it difficult if not impossible to ship these products by rail to points where they are needed to purify water supplies, manufacture pharmaceuticals or for manufacturing processes.”
The railroad industry contends that shipping hazardous materials by rail is much safer than moving it by truck over the highway.
“Until the Bush administration takes the steps needed to improve security surrounding shipments of deadly materials transported through our communities, local jurisdictions will take matters into their own hands to protect their residents from toxic releases that could be caused by accidents or terrorist attacks,” Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said in a statement.
Markey said he would push to get legislation he recently offered for a national policy on rerouting shipments of the most hazardous types of toxic materials attached as an amendment to the Homeland Security Authorization bill.
“The rail and chemical industries and the Bush Administration have opposed my legislative effort to reroute shipments to safer routes, beef up security and move less toxic chemicals whenever possible,” he said.