(The Associated Press circulated the following article on May 4.)
WASHINGTON — A US Court of Appeals ruling will prevent the District of Columbia from enforcing a ban on hazardous rail shipments.
DC Councilwoman Kathleen Patterson made reference to a fatal train wreck and chlorine spill in Graniteville while denouncing the ruling.
Patterson says she doesn’t know how many more people will have to die.
Nine people were killed and 250 injured in January when one train plowed into another on a side track causing a cloud of chlorine gas to spread over the tiny Aiken County mill village
DC Mayor Anthony Williams says the ruling is a step back for cities all across the country.
The appeals court overturned a lower court ruling. It would have allowed DC to enforce the law while freight railroad CSX Transportation proceeds with a lawsuit to overturn the ban.