CSX Fights Washington DC Hazmat Transportation Ban
The railroad industry continues to watch the egal battle between CSX and the City of Washington D.C. over a new law that bans the shipment of certain hazardous materials within 2 miles of the US Capitol. Questions about hazmat transportation have been raised in the wake of the 911 terrorist attacks and in the waske of the deadly spill in Aiken, SC. Industry observers have speculated that regulations at the Federal level may be forthcoming, but ist is a city that has pushed the issue into the spotlight.
CSX lodged its initial challenge Feb. 7 with the Surface Transportation Board, the regulatory agency charged with solving service issues. The company petitioned the board to declare that the ordinance is preempted by the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act.
Sullivan said such a declaration would not be binding on the city but would add legal heft to the railroad's case in federal court.
The Surface Transportation Board agreed to consider the matter and set a Feb. 16 deadline for interested parties to comment on CSX's petition. Spokesman Dennis Watson said the board has not said when it will issue its findings.
A week later, CSX filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia asking that it declare the ban invalid. In its federal court complaint, the railroad says the city's ordinance violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution and provisions in three federal laws: the Federal Railroad Safety Act, the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act and the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act.
Per a msnbc.com article, CSX's challenge invoking the federal government's jurisdiction is strong. According to Peter Fitzgerald, a business law professor at Stetson University in Gulfport."It's going to be tough for the District to maintain that law," Fitzgerald said. "Here you're looking at the Commerce Clause power. That is really one of the stronger clauses in the Constitution."
But those backing the city's ban argue the federal government's interest in interstate commerce must be weighed against a local government's responsibility to promote health and safety.
"CSXT's interests cannot trump the District's fundamental right and obligation to protect its citizens," the District wrote in its comments to the Surface Transportation Board. "The District of Columbia acts here in its most basic role 'as a guardian and trustee for its people.' "
CSX issued a press release that asserted that the company has been proactive in protecting the security in sensitive areas.
"Federal laws require railroads to carry hazardous materials. As long as that legal duty exists, this company has a responsibility to move the materials as safely as possible for all communities. Doubling the shipment times, the miles traveled and the handling requirements of dangerous materials, as the D.C. ordinance would require in many cases, just increases risk to everyone else. CSXT very much wants to work with federal railroad, security and commerce officials, as well as communities, producers and end- users, to create fair and balanced, long-term national solutions," said CSX Senior Vice President-Law and Public Affairs, Ellen M. Fitzsimmons.
CSXT has been active in efforts to enhance security in the D.C. area. According to Skip Elliott, CSXT Vice President for Public Safety and Environment, "The security efforts surrounding CSXT's core Washington, D.C. route are among the most aggressive in the United States as a result of close collaboration between this company and federal security agencies."
"Our concern is increasing risk associated with these movements. That is because in many cases the only alternative route would add hundreds of miles and, therefore, require chemicals to run through and be collected close to more neighborhoods outside D.C. We estimate that the legislation would add about two million miles to the routes of the shipments that the D.C. Council considers the most dangerous," Elliott said