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Oregon's Congressional Delegation Pushes Bill To Prepare For Railroad Derailments, Spills

<p>Cleanup efforts continued on Monday, June 6, 2016, at the site of an oil train derailment in Mosier, Oregon.</p>

Conrad Wilson

Cleanup efforts continued on Monday, June 6, 2016, at the site of an oil train derailment in Mosier, Oregon.

Members of Oregon’s congressional delegation introduced a bipartisan bill Friday to help towns and cities prepare for serious railroad incidents.

The Community Protection and Preparedness Act would create a trust fund to help communities prepare for incidents involving flammable liquids like crude oil and ethanol.

Last summer, a Union Pacific train derailed and spilled thousands of gallons of crude in the small Columbia River Gorge town of Mosier, Oregon.

Ranking Democrat with the House Transportation Committee, Rep. Peter DeFazio, said communities shouldn’t be on the hook for clean up.

He said, if passed, the new money would be used to provide training and develop emergency response plans.

“Seeing our beautiful Columbia Gorge on fire last summer was an eye-opener for everyone on the dangers of how we transport oil and other hazardous materials,” said Portland Democratic Congressman Earl Blumenauer.

Copyright 2021 EarthFix. To see more, visit .

Kristian Foden-Vencil is a veteran journalist/producer working for Oregon Public Broadcasting. He started as a cub reporter for newspapers in London, England in 1988. Then in 1991 he moved to Oregon and started freelancing. His work has appeared in publications as varied as The Oregonian, the BBC, the Salem Statesman Journal, Willamette Week, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, NPR and the Voice of America. Kristian has won awards from the Associated Press, Society of Professional Journalists and the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors. He was embedded with the Oregon National Guard in Iraq in 2004 and now specializes in business, law, health and politics.