(The following article by Ben Goad was posted on the Press-Enterprise website on January 14.)
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Alarmed by train derailments in San Bernardino and other parts of California, a legislator wants to establish a task force to investigate the dangers posed by the state’s increasingly busy railroads.
A bill by Assemblyman Rudy Bermúdez, D-Norwalk, would require the state Public Utilities Commission, the entity that regulates California’s rails, to assemble the task force to examine train hazards and recommend solutions. The legislation could go to the Assembly for a vote as early as this week.
In April, a Union Pacific train carrying toxic chlorine through western San Bernardino derailed, one of several incidents that have caught Bermúdez’s attention.
“Given the fact there have been so many derailments, it seems to me the (safety) plan in place is inadequate,” he said. “So many residents have been jeopardized by the way we currently move goods.”
A Press-Enterprise investigation of the San Bernardino derailment found that the “visibly warped” tracks blamed in the wreck had been inspected three days earlier, according to public documents. Further, the train crew’s paperwork was inaccurate, which gave emergency responders incorrect information about the contents of several cars laden with hazardous materials.
The newspaper also found that authorities mistakenly let evacuees return home before the toppled chlorine tank car was considered safe. Reports revealed that the tank car was cracked, although none of the potentially deadly chemical escaped. Hundreds of residents were displaced for more than two days.
Diana Rodriguez and her family were kept out of their home for five days. She is among many residents of the neighborhood who were unaware that the trains passing by their homes every day often carry poisonous chemicals.
“Hopefully they do make a law,” said Rodriguez, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 20 years. “They need to get something done before something really tragic happens.”
The PUC task force would focus on recurring problems blamed in derailments and train wrecks, rather than investigating individual accidents, said Robert Baird, a spokesman for Bermúdez.
Specifically, the group would look into deficiencies in emergency response, the potential for terrorist attacks on rail cars and the dangers associated with chemical shipments.
The PUC voted last May to support the bill, agency spokeswoman Susan Carothers said.
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates the worst train wrecks, do not comment on pending legislation, spokeswoman Lauren Peduzzi said. The board did not investigate the San Bernardino derailment.
Last week, the legislation passed in the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee on an 8-0 vote. If approved by the Assembly, the bill would go to the Senate.
Another bill proposed in the aftermath of the San Bernardino incident would require railroads to fund derailment evacuation plans, training and drills in communities near busy rail lines.
Sen. Nell Soto, D-Pomona, introduced the bill after displaced residents characterized the evacuation in San Bernardino as chaotic and confusing. Her bill is set for a legislative hearing in June.
Soto said she supports the Bermúdez bill.
“I wish we could say for sure that there will never be another train derailment, but we can’t,” she said. “Communities need to be prepared for the next one, and they need to prepared as quickly as possible.”