David Marit, president of Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, says he is pleased with new requirements that railways must share information with local emergency response teams and planning officials.
“There’s a lot of discussion yet but I think they’ve moved in the right direction to at least let communities know,” he said.
SARM, along with the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association has been working with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to develop recommendations for the federal government to improve rail safety through stricter regulations, and better enforcement and information sharing.
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“Sharing information is an excellent start,” said Weyburn, Sask., mayor Debra Button, SUMA president. “There is a still long way to go if we are going to avoid tragedies like the one in Lac-Mégantic.”
Marit said a balanced approach can be achieved between growing commercial interests of the railroads and the safety of communities.
“We don’t want to either handcuff the railway system for the movement of goods and yet we still want to make sure communities are safe.
“I don’t think it matters where you go in this country. We’re getting more and more train traffic occurring all the time and that’s not going to reduce. We have to look at all aspects of rail safety,” he said.
Marit and Button said they are looking forward to working with FCM and the federal government to improve regulations for railway operations, on such things as speed restrictions and tighter requirements for supervising parked locomotives.
Claude Dauphin, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities said the Lac Megantic tragedy, and recent derailments in other parts of the country, have underscored the critical role that municipalities play in planning for and responding to rail emergencies involving dangerous goods.
The July 6 derailment of a runaway train carrying crude oil at Lac Megantic, Que., killed 47 people and destroyed much of the town’s core. The federal government announced Nov. 21 an additional $97 million to further assist with cleanup.
The new measures introduce the following requirements:
All Canadian railway operators are now required to provide municipal emergency planners and first responders with annual information on the nature and volume of dangerous goods being transported through their communities;
Large Canadian railway companies, such as Canadian National and Canadian Pacific will be required to include in their annual reports a quarterly breakdown of the nature and volume of dangerous goods shipped through Canadian communities;
Smaller railways will be required to notify municipalities of any significant changes to the information provided in their annual reporting.
In October, the federal government announced additional measures for railways to review the classification of crude oil products shipped by rail. They have also committed to further targeted action, including requiring railways and shippers to carry additional insurance.
