AG Coalition Seeks Expansion of PHMSA First Responder Rule Proposal

Thirteen state Attorneys General, led by Pennsylvania AG Michelle Henry (pictured), are recommending five additions to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s proposed rule on communications between railroads and emergency first responders.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry on Oct. 27 reported leading a coalition of 13 state Attorneys General in supporting the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) proposed rule on communications between railroads and emergency first responders and charging the agency with expanding that proposal.

PHMSA on June 21 reported proposing a new rule that would require all railroads to “always maintain—and update in real-time—accurate, electronic information about rail hazmat shipments in a train consist that would be accessible to authorized emergency response personnel.” Under the proposal—aimed at “improving public safety and preventing environmental impacts”—railroads must generate in hard copy and electronic versions, real-time train consist information for hazmat shipments that includes “the quantity and position of the shipment on the train, the shipment’s origin and destination, and a designated emergency point of contact at the railroad,” according to PHMSA. Railroads would also be required to proactively “push” that information to authorized local first response personnel as soon as the railroad is aware of an accident involving any hazardous materials.

The move, the federal agency explained, responds to congressional mandates in the FAST Act; a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendation to provide electronic train consist information to emergency officials and personnel who respond to hazmat incidents for railroads; and “lessons learned” from firefighters responding to the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. “Consistent with the broad scope of the NTSB recommendation, PHMSA’s proposal goes beyond the FAST Act mandate that had been limited to Class I railroads and extends these new proposed requirements to all railroad classes and requires proactive notification to local first responders in the case of an accident or an incident involving a release or suspected release of a hazardous material,” according to PHMSA.

In an Oct. 27 comment letter (download below), AG Henry and the coalition—including AGs from New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and Wisconsin—told PHMSA Deputy Administrator Tristan Brown that they supported the proposal “to ensure there are no coverage gaps when it comes to the transportation of hazardous materials by railroad” and also suggested five additions.

The coalition asked PHMSA consider the following:

1. “Develop a role-based data repository for electronic train consist information.
2. “Account for state and local needs by requiring coordination between railroads and state agencies and municipalities.
3. “Require periodic testing to ensure that all relevant first responders have access to electronic train consist information.
4. “Require [railroads to develop] contingency plans [for when electronic train consist information is unavailable or not accessible].
5. “Ensure compliance with these requirements through enforcement.”

The proposal “will not guarantee these derailments will not occur—however, we need a structure in place to enable our brave first responders to quickly and efficiently do their jobs to minimize impact,” Attorney General Henry said in a statement. “We hope the federal administration takes our recommendations to heart as we all share a mission of keeping residents and their families safe.”

In related news, Norfolk Southern on Sept. 20 reported partnering with RapidSOS to help “make it quicker and easier” for first responders to access cargo and hazardous materials information and enable the ability to call for mutual aid, all while providing ongoing training.