Governor signs Dye's small railroad bill

OLYMPIA — A bill sponsored by Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, that was recently signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee will provide relief to small railroads that are facing regulatory burdens for hauling agricultural and food grade oils.

House Bill 1136, which was passed in the Senate and House with substantial bipartisan support, adapts the emergency planning requirements for short-line railroads that haul cooking oil, vegetable oil, canola oil and small quantities of low volatile oils, from current directives that apply to Bakken crude oil and other petroleum-based oils.

“Two years ago, the Legislature passed comprehensive oil train regulations,” Dye said. “Unfortunately, food grade and mineral oils were inadvertently included in the provision. This could hurt the people who make their living on agricultural products shipped by rail.”

The bill exempts “short-line railroads” that do not haul crude oil or refined petroleum products from select drill performance and equipment contracting requirements that are associated with oil spill emergency response plans. Per the bill, the rules adopted by the state Department of Ecology tapers the disaster planning requirements for small railroads that don’t participate in the hauling of bulk-petroleum products that are used for fuel.

“Had the bill not been signed into law, the cost of meeting the stringent regulatory code could have had a crippling effect on small rail lines. The future of Washington’s rural, agricultural areas could have been jeopardized,” Dye explained. “The unintended consequences of including agricultural oil, and other kinds of oil, in the Bakken crude regulations is disastrous to our industry and rural economic development. I am glad we found a bipartisan solution.”

The law goes into effect July 23.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.