Every time this column’s deadline rolls around, it seems like the District Council is struggling to protect the city from the federal government, whether they are diverting security funding or just letting trainloads of poison roll through town.
This week’s disaster prevention revolves around the CSX Corporation, a railroad conglomerate. CSX ships hazardous materials through the District of the Columbia on a track only four miles from the Capitol. Yesterday, the D.C. Council banned the shipment of these materials in the District, the first local authority to take this action following 9/11.
Though it doesn’t take an expert to envision a terrorist attack targeting a train full of dangerous material, a specialist testifying at a Council hearing conjured up a worst-case scenario that could create a “deadly toxic cloud extending 14 miles [and] kill or injure as many as 100,000 people.”
Still, CSX’s website says, ironically, that it “wants to be known as being ‘obsessed’ with safety.” Isn’t that enough?
Apparently not, as the Council’s bill banning the transport of hazardous materials ranging from explosives to poison gas was approved after a 10-1 vote, with Chairman of the Public Works Committee Carol Schwarz (R- At Large) as the lone dissenter.
Schwarz, along with various federal agencies that disapprove of the Council’s act, has received private assurances from CSX officials that most dangerous materials are already diverted from the District.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security noted that federal efforts were “meeting the spirit of the legislation” after a security review of the 42 miles of railroad track in D.C.
Though specific efforts could not be revealed, the DHS said that railroads and other private partners keep their security systems “in lockstep” with the government system. Despite the due diligence of the DHS, council members sought a more public reassurance in the new measure.
CSX, which did not return phone calls as of press time, may choose to challenge the law in court. Local regulation of hazardous transport could end up in Congress if the Council supports a long-term ban, which the House of Representatives can veto. The current prohibition will only extend for 90 days and is not up for review.
Why are people worried that the Republican-controlled Congress would object? It might be anti-regulatory principles, but someone more cynical might suspect a connection in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations from CSX to Republicans in Congress, or in the fact that Treasury Secretary John Snow’s last job was CEO of CSX. Big business has its advantages.
For now, let’s enjoy 90 days of comparatively chemical-free living.
