Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, joined fellow Democrats this week in sponsoring Gov. Jay Inslee’s requested oil transportation legislation in the state Senate (SB 5087).

“There is a massive amount of oil and coal moving through our state on our railroads,” said Kohl-Welles. “This bill does not curtail that movement but simply requests that those who transport oil through our state bear some of the burden of spill prevention and response.”

How to address increasing oil transportation has been an ongoing debate in Washington and across North America in recent years. North Dakota and the Bakken region of Canada are experiencing an oil boom, and spills and explosions have followed as a result of substandard rail cars, flagging regulation and inadequate industry oversight.

Roughly sixty-million gallons of volatile crude oil pass through Washington every week, and over a million gallons of crude oil was spilled from trains in North America in 2013, more than in the previous 30 years combined. Numerous explosions also occurred, including the explosion in Quebec that killed 47 people.

“Our first responders need to be alerted when a particularly high volume of oil is travelling through heavily populated areas,” said Kohl-Welles, “I live in the heart of downtown Seattle, in Belltown, from my window I can see oil and coal trains pass by throughout the day. There has already been one oil train derailment in the Interbay area of Seattle a few months ago. Fortunately, tragedy was averted, but the potential is there for it to happen again and next time it might be deadly. I can’t even imagine how catastrophic an explosive spill could be where so many people work and live.”

Although the federal government alone has the authority to impose many rail safety measures, states have control over some key aspects related to transparency, accountability and taxation. A study was conducted in 2014 to evaluate the risks associated with the vast increase of oil transported by rail through Washington, with many of the recommendations included in this bill. The final report is due in March.

“The area I represent is already suffering from extreme cargo train congestion,” said Kohl-Welles. “With so many oil and coal trains passing through, I am concerned about the environmental effects especially along Myrtle Edwards Park and beaches where harbor seals come in to rest.”

“We need to pass this bill to ensure we protect our state’s beautiful environment and landscape, and develop precautions to protect human health.”

The bill has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.