Governor’s Veto of Oil Train Safety Bill: Reckless and Dangerous
 

New Jersey Sierra Club is rallying today against Governor Christie’s veto of the oil trains safety bill. S806 (Weinberg) sought to make oil trains in the state safer. The bill required operators carrying Bakken crude shipments to have discharge response, cleanup, and contingency plans to transport certain hazardous materials by rail. Previous Bakken train derailments have led to train cars setting on fire, homes being destroyed, forced evacuations of entire towns, threatened water supplies, and human casualties. His argument for not signing the bill is nothing but an excuse since anyone can view the universal code on every rail car carrying Bakken crude. We’re not hiding this info from the terrorists, we’re hiding it from first responders and communities. Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club released the following statement:

“With the veto of the oil trains safety bill, Governor Christie seems to care more concerned about oil companies than the safety of the people of New Jersey. This bill was a compromise that everyone worked on and an important step in the right direction to deal with these dangerous bomb trains. Instead of supporting this work, the Governor gutted the bill. When a train carrying Bakken crude oil derails, it is a disaster. Towns need to have contingency plans in place to clean up and minimize the risk. We need to make sure there are response and emergency plans if something happens with one of these rail cars at a moment’s notice. These trains are carrying extremely dangerous and volatile substances putting our communities and environment at risk.”

“People think what the Governor did at the beach was outrageous, the vetoing of this bill is even worse because he is putting people at risk. The federal rules on these trains are too lax, but the Governor vetoed the stricter state law. We can, and should, go stronger in New Jersey. Bakken crude, especially when carried by rail, is a ticking time bomb. These communities are completely unaware about what is traveling through their towns and how to handle a potential devastating accident. We need to get rid of these dangerous cars altogether and move to a clean energy future, but until then we need to make oil trains safer.”

“Even though it is the end of his administration, Governor Christie is still doing a lot of damage. Instead of learning a lesson from the disasters in Virginia, Illinois, Quebec, Oregon, the Governor is blocking our plan to prevent future tragedies. That is why we need the legislature to override the Governor so we don’t have to wait for the next Governor to sign this important legislation.”