[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: Growing oil and chemical train derailment hazard

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Weaver, Sam

Fellow Councilors and HOTLINE followers,
 
One concern that has been rising for me as our city has located many new population centers near our rail lines is train derailments.  Because trains are now moving a lot of additional petrochemical products due to the fracking-enabled oil boom along the Front Range, and because derailments of these trains are more dangerous when they contain these products, I hope that all levels of government lobby for increased safety measures by rail operators.  The following article details similar concerns in Longmont, but this is a growing issue in Boulder as we locate new business and residential development on our rail corridor.
 
http://www.dailycamera.com/top-stories/ci_27679317/oily-fiery-train-derailments-worry-longmont-residents
 
I would like to see this issue added to our city’s Legislative Agenda when we review it at the end of the year, if not sooner.  Bearing this safety risk is an external impact of the fracking boom, and a good reason why Boulder, Boulder
 County, and all of its cities deserve their full share of extraction revenue regardless of how they regulate extraction in their areas of regulatory enforcement.  Additional disclosures of schedules, improved rail car safety, and additional railway inspections are all measures we should support for improved community protections from the life-safety hazards of petrochemical train-car derailments.
 
All the best,
 
Sam Weaver
Member of Boulder City Council
weavers at bouldercolorado.gov
Phone: 303-416-6130