While the exploding oil train in Canada where 47 people died is still fresh in your memory, you may be surprised to learn that there were plans to make accidents like that preventable. The Obama administration has delayed by nearly a year a plan to boost safety standards for the type of rail car involved.You would also be surprised to learn that the government agency responsible is called the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
A proposed rule to beef up rail-car safety was initially scheduled to be put in place last October, but it has been delayed until late September at the earliest. A final rule isn’t expected until next year.
The administration has a good track record of delaying and denying approval of the XL pipeline over safety and environmental issues, all of which have been satisfactorily addressed. Pipelines don’t crash and burn. Rail cars do. So why all the foot-dragging? Maybe because Warren Buffet, one of the largest campaign donors to the Democratic Party, owns BNSF Railway. A railroad company that transports the same oil that the XL pipeline would. Isn’t it obvious where this administration’s priorities are?