Oil Trains In The Northwest

Lawmakers in Oregon are once again pushing bills to increase the state’s oversight of oil trains, ten months after a Union Pacific train derailed and caught fire in the Columbia River Gorge.

The bill would give the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality the authority to regulate railroads carrying hazardous materials.

Northwest oil train opponents are celebrating  after a county in the Columbia River Gorge rejected a track-expansion request from Union Pacific Railroad.

The oil terminal in Vancouver would be built just 70 miles downriver from the where an oil train derailed in June.

Washington’s Attorney General said Friday that he is opposed to a proposal for the nation’s largest oil-by-rail terminal in Vancouver, Wash.

For the last five weeks, Washington’s energy council has conducted a trial like review of the Vancouver Energy Project.

Federal officials placed the blame for this summer's fiery derailment in Mosier with Union Pacific Railroad. EarthFix analyzed federal data to put the railroad's safety record into context.

Groundwater at the site of the oil train derailment in Mosier, Oregon, is contaminated with elevated levels of benzene and other volatile organic compounds. But the main worry isn't drinking water: it's the health of nearby wildlife.

Members of Oregon’s Congressional Delegation introduced legislation Thursday to deal with oil train safety.

Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee talks with OPB All Things Considered host Kate Davidson about a topic he is becoming increasingly vocal on: oil trains.