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DeWine, Vance, Brown want firm Norfolk Southern backing of rail safety legislation


Gov. DeWine plans to testify virtually Wednesday from East Palestine before the U.S. Senate regarding the Norfolk Southern train derailment in February. (WSYX)
Gov. DeWine plans to testify virtually Wednesday from East Palestine before the U.S. Senate regarding the Norfolk Southern train derailment in February. (WSYX)
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This time, broad promises of safety improvements by Norfolk Southern's CEO won't cut it with top Ohio officials set to testify at a Senate committee hearing today.

In a letter Tuesday to the railroad's top executive, Alan Shaw, Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted called for him to specifically endorse rail safety legislation sponsored by Ohio lawmakers and others instead of just voicing general support for "increased rail safety" as he did March 9 at an earlier Senate panel's hearing.

"It is our expectation that you will champion all good faith efforts to improve rail safety, and we are calling on you today to work with legislators to ensure the best possible policy outcomes in these proposals," DeWine and Husted said. "We also expect you will deliver for the people of East Palestine by fully supporting these legislative efforts until they are enacted."

Set to speak from East Palestine, the site of the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern wreck that spewed toxic materials requiring a clean-up that is still far from over, DeWine is expected to be the lead witness before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

But he and other Ohio officials are unlikely to be satisfied by Shaw's testimony, which was released Tuesday by the railroad company.

Again, his pledges are mostly non-specific, such as the company recognizing "we need to continue working to improve railway safety."

Shaw does detail a few aspects of the rail safety legislation the company backs but on other aspects he hedges by saying company leaders only "support in principle."

Sen. JD Vance calls railroad companies' critique of new safety requirements 'nonsensical'

Ohio GOP Sen. J.D. Vance condemned such talk in an advance copy of his written testimony.

"The Senate should not be satisfied with a voluntary standard outlined with blurry legalisms. Phrases from their announcement, 'develop a plan,' 'anticipates adding' and 'where practical' are not enough, not when towns across America are at stake," he said.

Vance pointed to a bill that he, Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown and others are sponsoring that calls for more frequent installation of rail-side defect detectors, sometimes known simply as "hot boxes."

"The railroad industry is unmoved by the fact that this requirement would have prevented the disaster at East Palestine," the freshman senator said.

"They have said that this requirement does not 'provide appropriate flexibility' and that it is a 'prescriptive safety mandate.' They say that they are 'determining what improvements should be made.' They say, 'this section fails to evince any need for prescriptive installation of such detectors.'

"Such resistance to even this common sense, minimal requirement, that railroads have admitted themselves needs to be remedied, should color senators’ perceptions of the railroads’ other objections to this legislation."

Although Shaw will testify that Norfolk Southern is bucking the industry trend by hiring additional railroad workers, Vance criticized widespread staff cutbacks in recent years.

"Some have claimed there are as many as 90 points of inspection on each side of a railcar. That inspection currently occurs in 30 seconds per side under current railroad practice. The voluntary requirements of the railroad do not provide enough time for a carman to actually review a railcar with sufficient care," he said.

"The railroads suggest that the time for an inspection has no relationship to its quality. This is nonsensical. Clearly, there is a minimum amount of time required for a human visual inspection to be effective."

Brown also is expected to lash out at railroads that "have lobbied for decades to undermine any safety rules that would prevent derailments. And they’re still at it, even after what they’ve down done to this Ohio town. Even with the eyes of the country on them.”

The Democrat's critique was similar to that of his GOP colleagues: “We don’t need a voluntary plan that the company is free to ignore the minute they have a quarterly earnings report that some Wall Street analyst doesn’t like. We need real safety rules. We need my legislation with Sen. Vance, the Railway Safety Act.”

NTSB find problems with tank car valves designed to release pressure

The hearing comes as the National Transportation Safety Board released test results showing "anomalies with the function of some (pressure relief devices) that may have compromised their pressure relieving capability."

The valves are supposed to regulate internal pressure of tank cars by releasing material under pressure, reducing the chance of a catastrophic tank failure. DeWine, after consulting with advisers, went along with a Norfolk Southern plan to vent five tank cars containing toxic vinyl chloride when internal temperatures started rising dangerously rising -- instead of taking a chance of a major explosion that could have caused untold damage. Some critics questioned the governor's decision.

The NTSB said, "This will require further testing and evaluation to assess the impact on the operation" of the safety devices.

Meanwhile, Norfolk Southern held its initial safety classes Tuesday for first responders at the company's rail yard in Bellevue.

"We have more than 400 first responders registered for this and other upcoming trainings, and classes are currently full," Shaw said.

MORE | Norfolk Southern announces new first responders training center in Ohio

The railroad president plans to enumerate the money poured into the East Palestine area.

"Financial assistance cannot change what happened, but it is an important part of doing the right thing. To date, we have committed to reimbursements and investments of more than $24 million in total, including by helping more than 5,800 families through our Family Assistance Center.

"This is just a start. We are currently working with the relevant stakeholders to establish three new funds to address health care, property values, and water testing in East Palestine and the surrounding communities," Shaw said.

The Senate hearing can be watched here.

drowland@sbgtv.com

@darreldrowland

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