Washington State

US law trumps Washington state’s crude-by-rail restrictions, federal agency finds

A photograph of a line of tank cars.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) said late Monday that federal law preempts a state law in Washington that restricts the rail transport of crude oils that exceed a certain vapor pressure limit.

“PHMSA determined that Washington State’s vapor pressure requirement does not conform to U.S. Hazardous Materials Regulations and is an obstacle to accomplishing and carrying out Federal Hazardous Materials Transportation Law,” PHMSA said Monday. The decision is among the...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/us-law-trumps-washington-states-crude-by-rail-restrictions-federal-agency-finds

Departments of Transportation, Energy wary of setting new crude-by-rail rules

A photograph of the top of a tank car.

The U.S. Departments of Transportation and Energy have suggested in a report to Congress that regulation to define crude-by-rail movements using crude oil’s vapor pressure isn’t needed.

The issue of vapor pressure as a factor in potentially restricting crude-by-rail movement is a hot topic because the state of Washington enacted a law in 2019 setting vapor pressure limits, while other states have lobbied the federal government to pursue a similar mandate. Washington state’s crude-by-rail law...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/departments-of-transportation-energy-wary-of-setting-new-crude-by-rail-rules

+ More