BY MICHAEL OLOHAN
OF NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
TRENTON, N.J. —— Oil trains potentially carrying hazardous cargo through North Jersey can continue on their merry way – not disclosing their cargo – after a veto override of a bill requiring more rail shipment transparency failed Dec. 18 in the state senate.
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However, the bill’s sponsor, state Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) vowed to reintroduce the bill soon under new Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration.
Weinberg’s effort to override Gov. Chris Christie’s July veto of an oil-train transparency bill fell short by six votes in the senate Dec. 18. None of Christie’s legislative vetoes were overridden during his eight-year tenure.
“We’ll do it again under Murphy. It was a real shame to not pass this bill,” said Shane Mitchell, legislative director to Weinberg, on Dec. 19.
The bill would provide first responders with more information about hazardous cargo moving by rail – including volatile Bakken crude oil and ethanol – and require railroads to develop disaster plans and prove they could pay for a cleanup.
Moreover, the bill would require transparency on rail and bridge inspections, which are not public information.
In November, The Record reported that a June 2016 track inspection report revealed 13 defects along 10 miles of CSX River Line tracks between Ridgefield Park and Harrington Park in Bergen County. The information was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Despite the bill’s initial approval in the assembly and senate, Christie vetoed the bill in July citing a potential for terrorism if information on hazardous rail shipments was made public. However, surrounding states – including New York and Pennsylvania – make rail shipment information publicly available.
While appealing to fellow senators to override Christie’s veto, Weinberg questioned the governor’s rationale.
“Anyone who thinks the bad guys can’t get this information, they can.”
She said an available app can tell individuals what specific cars are carrying by inputting the car number and waiting for the information.
“The reason I ask for this override is that there could be an emergency at any moment,” she told her colleagues during the vote. She informed them that on the day they were casting votes to try to override the governor’s veto, another major train derailment of an Amtrak passenger train had occurred that same day in Seattle.
On Dec. 8 in Union Township, a 141-car CSX train suffered multiple derailments, and a motor vehicle was hit and destroyed Dec. 10 in Norwood by a CSX train after it stalled on the tracks.
Both North Jersey incidents occurred only a month after a protest by activists took place near CSX tracks in Bergenfield to increase awareness of the need for more information by first responders about hazardous cargo being transported by rail in close proximity to North Jersey homes and businesses.
“Now I know there are members who don’t want to ruin the governor’s perfect record [of no overrides in eight years] and I guess that’s as good a reason as any. But 33 of us voted for this bill when it came [previously] before us,” said Weinberg, hoping to persuade senators to vote for an override.
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Only 21 of 27 senators needed to override the veto voted in favor on Dec. 18. Had that vote succeeded, a veto override would still have required 54 favorable votes in the assembly.
Currently, the Democrats are the majority statewide party: the senate has 24 Democrats and 16 Republicans, while in the assembly has 52 Democrats and 28 Republicans.