Review – HR 854 Introduced – DERAIL Act

Back in January Rep Deluzio (D,PA) introduced HR 854, the Decreasing Emergency Railroad Accident Instances Locally (DERAIL) Act. The bill would require DOT to change the definition of ‘high-hazard flammable train’ (HHFT) and to require reporting derailments of involving toxic inhalation hazard (TIH) rail cars. No new funding is provided in the bill.

 

This bill is essentially identical to HR 1238 that was introduced by Deluzio in February 2023. No action was taken on that bill in the 118^th Congress.

Commentary

While the wording of this bill is relatively simple on its face, this is a prime example of simple words hiding a complex result. Part of that result in this case is intended, the notification requirements (even though protected by the SSI classification) for HHFT have long been a desire for local communities for all trains carrying hazardous materials. I have never understood this desire, since most communities do not have the funds or resources to plan, staff and equip in advance for an incident like that seen in East Palestine, Ohio in February, 2023.

 

For more details about the provisions of this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-854-introduced - subscription required.