Oil Train Hearing

Spokane was the site of one of two public hearings last week on the Governor’s Rail and Marine Oil Transportation Study. I testified at the hearing on the growth of oil transportation by rail through our state and the significant impact that oil trains could have on two important community priorities: safety and prosperity.

Our safety could be impacted dramatically by an oil train derailment in Spokane. There have been nine serious oil train derailments in North America in the past 18 months and it does not take too much of an imagination to know that such an accident in downtown Spokane would be catastrophic.

The safety concern from an explosion is obvious but I also highlighted another safety concern specific to our community.  A derailment, even a minor one, along the Spokane River, could leak oil into our River-Aquifer system and contaminate the single source of drinking water for over 500,000 people in our community.

The other priority I addressed was prosperity.  Eastern Washington produces grains, fruits and vegetables that are shipped all over the U.S. and the world. Unfortunately, the increase in oil and coal trains is already having a direct and negative impact on agricultural shipments. There is a finite amount of rail capacity, so every additional oil or coal train car means a load of wheat or potatoes or lentils produced by a Washington family farm is getting delayed –  or completely shut out – from rail as a freight option.

There is virtually no prosperity derived from oil and coal trains travelling through our community, but those trains threaten the very industry that drives prosperity in our region, agriculture.

I urged the team writing the study to include the strongest possible recommendations and I look forward to passing oil train safety legislation that will help protect Spokane and our entire state during the upcoming legislative session.

I appreciate all of the comments we’ve received from constituents regarding oil trains and I thank the 200+ citizens who attended the hearing. You have until December 1st to provide feedback on the study, which I urge you to do HERE.

Golden Crayon Award

I am grateful to the Early Learning Action Alliance for naming me the 2014 Golden Crayon Award winner for the work we have done together to improve access to high quality early learning opportunities for our state’s children over the past two years.

Here is a link to a media release on the award.

VOTE!

“The right to vote is the most basic right without which all other rights are meaningless.” – President Lyndon Johnson.

The time is now to exercise your most basic right, but as of today,  only 30% of voters in Spokane County have returned their ballots.

You have until 8 p.m. tomorrow night and please remember, there are two ways to get your vote in on time: You can mark your ballot, seal it, sign the outer envelope and put it in the mail — with a stamp — so that it is postmarked by Tuesday. If you’re still holding on to that ballot, take it to the post office (now!) to make sure it’s postmarked by the deadline.

Or you can visit one of these drop box locations before 8pm Tuesday night. You can also track the status of your ballot.

Keeping In Touch

If you have a comment, idea, question, please let me know. I would love to hear from you!

You can reach me by e-mail (andy.billig@leg.wa.gov) or by phone at 509-209-2427.

And if you know someone who would like to get their own copy of my weekly e-newsletter, tell them they can go to my website at http://www.senatedemocrats.wa.gov/senators/billig/ and click on the link to “Sign up for my e-newsletter.”

Onward!

Andy