As more oil rides the rails, new law requires railroads to pay for first responder training

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As more oil rides the rails, new law requires railroads to pay for first responder training

Uhmmm,
“enable. … state to collect…$2.5 million from rail and pipe co.s every year…'til 2017…{in the event of an accident}”
“in the event of an accident.” does that make the payment(s) a retroactive penalty?..for an event not yet occurred?
“rail and pipeline companies”…all of them doing business in the state?
Those railroad safety inspectors…3 for three years…Is that $104,000 a year per each?
and those time requirements…RR personnel…respond to phone…1 hour…be on-scene in three…because the MN climate doesn’t include weather, which impedes driving at the speed limit…white-out? What’s a?..
…grade crossing improvements…oil train accidents…???..What is the connection?

GEBTenn, we’re both ascending (my first question here) Mt Quandary and are feet from the summit.

If I understand the above article right, they do not have to pay the $2.5 million dollars if there are no accidents, Is that right?

The railroads and not the producers of the product have to pay? Shouldn’t the gas and chemical companies be the ones to determine or design such procedures. What do the railroads know? They operate trains and don’t produce or mine or drill for the commodities!

Liberal state milking big business. No surprise.

I like the part where they “will now have to help pay for first responder training and programs ‘to prepare’ derailments and spills”. These reporters really need to stop relying on spell and grammar check and really read what they type then have someone else proofread before being submitted.

First responders have been required for years to have Hazmet training, and have to know how to fight gas tanker truck fires, rail car hazmet releases, etc. This new fee sounds opportunistic.

Do the states have the authority to do this?

Do the states even have the authority to charge railroads?

It is a cost of doing business…all the railroads have to do is bump up the rate paid by the shippers. They have no alternative but to pay it–and then pass it on to the end user (i.e., the consumer).

It is a cost of doing business…all the railroads have to do is bump up the rate paid by the shippers. They have no alternative but to pay it–and then pass it on to the end user (i.e., the consumer).

I wonder how much of that money collected will actually go to training and how much will go to a new department with a large staff doing a lot of “studies” instead.