{"id":994985,"date":"2023-02-16T12:24:03","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T12:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jacobin.com\/2023\/02\/pete-buttigieg-railroad-safety-procedures-brakes-hazardous-materials-derailment-risk\/"},"modified":"2023-02-16T12:24:47","modified_gmt":"2023-02-16T12:24:47","slug":"pete-buttigieg-is-pretending-hes-powerless-to-change-railroad-safety-procedures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/02\/16\/pete-buttigieg-is-pretending-hes-powerless-to-change-railroad-safety-procedures\/","title":{"rendered":"Pete Buttigieg Is Pretending He\u2019s Powerless to Change Railroad Safety Procedures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n\n\n\n

In the wake of a disastrous rail accident in Ohio, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg says he doesn\u2019t have the power to compel the rail industry to upgrade its safety equipment and procedures. But he does.<\/h3>\n\n\n
\n \n
\n Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at the Chicago Airport, November 21, 2022. (Christopher Dilts \/ Bloomberg<\/cite> via Getty Images)\n <\/figcaption> \n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n \n

Facing pressure from lawmakers in his own party after a spate of train derailments, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has now resorted to falsely suggesting that he does not have power to compel the rail industry to upgrade its safety equipment and procedures.<\/p>\n

In a Twitter thread posted more than a week after Norfolk Southern\u2019s fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Buttigieg indicated that he cannot reinstate an Obama-enacted, Trump-repealed law requiring some trains carrying hazardous materials to replace their Civil War\u2013era braking systems with new electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brake technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re constrained by law on some areas of rail regulation (like the braking rule withdrawn by the Trump administration in 2018 because of a law passed by Congress in 2015),\u201d Buttigieg\u00a0wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Buttigieg\u2019s tweet refers to a\u00a0law passed<\/a>\u00a0by Congress in 2015 \u2014 at the urging of the railroad industry \u2014 requiring the executive branch to conduct cost-benefit analysis of the ECP brake rule before enacting it.<\/p>\n

Trump used that law to kill the braking rule, but the cost-benefit analysis his administration used to do so was subsequently discredited<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In response to questions from the\u00a0Lever,\u00a0<\/em>a Transportation Department spokesperson said that its agencies would \u201cuse all relevant authorities to ensure accountability and improve safety\u201d once the investigation into the cause of the derailment is completed.<\/p>\n

Asked about the braking rule, the spokesperson said that it would be difficult \u201cto reinstate the rule in its previous configuration,\u201d given previous legal challenges.<\/p>\n

The spokesperson said proposing a new rule would require performing a new cost-benefit analysis, though they acknowledged that the department has the ability to prepare that analysis.<\/p>\n

In 2018, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) demanded<\/a>\u00a0exactly that from the Transportation Department.<\/p>\n

A coalition of environmental organizations has also been asking the department to redo the analysis. After the Trump administration rescinded the braking rule, groups including<\/a>\u00a0the Sierra Club and Earthjustice\u00a0appealed<\/a>\u00a0the decision, citing the flawed analysis and asking the Transportation Department to prepare a new one. The appeal is still pending.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had hoped to see this issue move forward under the Biden administration,\u201d said Kristen Boyles, a managing attorney at Earthjustice. \u201cIt\u2019s not clear that it\u2019s a priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rail law and regulatory experts interviewed by the\u00a0Lever<\/em>\u00a0agreed that Buttigieg\u2019s Transportation Department can and should redo that analysis to allow for a reinstatement of the braking rule.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Federal Railroad Administration\u2019s mission is to promote rail safety,\u201d said John Risch, a retired railroad worker and former legislative director of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transport Workers union, referring to an agency within the Transportation Department. \u201cIf they believe that ECP brakes are essential to rail safety, they could require ECP brakes on certain trains or whatever they want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Risch added that nothing prevents Buttigieg from using his existing rulemaking authority to expand the definition of a \u201chigh-hazard flammable train\u201d to cover trains like the one in Ohio.<\/p>\n

Under the existing\u00a0limited definition<\/a>, the Ohio train \u2014 which was\u00a0carrying<\/a>\u00a0five tanker cars of vinyl chloride, a Class 2 flammable gas and known carcinogen \u2014 was exempted from the classification\u2019s more stringent safety regulations.<\/p>\n

Officials warned the vinyl chloride on board the derailed train could explode, necessitating local evacuations. Crews ultimately released and burned<\/a>\u00a0the vinyl chloride, creating a giant, toxic mushroom cloud.<\/p>\n

Transportation regulations require high-hazard flammable trains to travel at reduced speeds, utilize newer rail cars with enhanced safety features, and provide\u00a0notification<\/a> to state and tribal agencies\u00a0of the types of hazardous materials they are transporting.<\/p>\n

The federal agency tasked with investigating transportation accidents, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), previously unsuccessfully\u00a0pushed<\/a> for the Transportation Department to require ECP brakes on trains carrying Class 2 flammable gases.<\/p>\n

In 2019, after the Trump administration repealed the ECP brake rule, the NTSB\u00a0urged<\/a>\u00a0the Transportation Department to require trains carrying liquified natural gas to utilize the better braking technology.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Buttigieg\u2019s agency is currently considering a\u00a0separate rule<\/a>\u00a0that would weaken brake testing standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cSecretary Buttigieg should call out the brake rule repeal for the horrendous decision it was, start working to implement a new rule, take Norfolk Southern to task, and push back on corporations deciding how the [Transportation Department] regulates them,\u201d\u00a0said<\/a> Jeff Hauser of the Revolving Door Project, which tracks corporate influence on government. \u201cAnything short of that only signals to the railroads that this type of incident will be tolerated. That is not an acceptable message from the Secretary of Transportation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buttigieg\u2019s attempt to depict himself as powerless comes after ongoing reporting by the\u00a0Lever<\/em>\u00a0detailing the weakening of safety rules governing the transportation of hazardous materials.<\/p>\n

Following that reporting, Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) called on Buttigieg to use his power to improve safety rules.<\/p>\n

East Palestine sits just miles from the Pennsylvania border \u2014 and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro (D) also released a statement on Tuesday saying that he has specifically asked President Joe Biden and Buttigieg to \u201creexamine what constitutes a high-hazard flammable train\u201d and \u201crevisit the need for regulation requiring high-hazard flammable trains to carry more advanced safety and braking equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of that demand was echoed by Ohio governor Mike DeWine (R). When asked about rules exempting the Norfolk Southern train from the \u201chigh-hazard flammable train\u201d classification, he said<\/a>: \u201cThis is absurd and we need to look at this. Congress needs to take a look at how these things are handled. We should know when we have trains carrying hazardous materials that are going through the state of Ohio.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. J. D. Vance (R-OH) issued<\/a>\u00a0a statement Tuesday raising questions about \u201cthe quality of the braking systems\u201d on trains as well as \u201cthe Transportation Department\u2019s regulatory approach to our nation\u2019s rail system.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Vance and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent a letter<\/a>\u00a0to the Transportation Department asking \u201cwhether a crew of two rail workers, plus one trainee, is able to effectively monitor 150 cars.\u201d<\/p>\n

They additionally asked whether it may be necessary to expand the definition of \u201chigh-hazard flammable trains\u201d to include trains like the derailed train in Ohio that was hauling toxic, flammable gases like vinyl chloride.<\/p>\n\n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n

You can subscribe to David Sirota\u2019s investigative journalism project, the\u00a0Lever<\/i>, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This post was originally published on Jacobin<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Facing pressure from lawmakers in his own party after a spate of train derailments, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has now resorted to falsely suggesting that he does not have power to compel the rail industry to upgrade its safety equipment and procedures. In a Twitter thread posted more than a week after Norfolk Southern\u2019s [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1777,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994985"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1777"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=994985"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":994987,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994985\/revisions\/994987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=994985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=994985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=994985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}