In the neverending pissing contest between the District of Columbia, business interests and the federal government, this is a victory for the good guys, on the side of safety for the people who work and live in the nation's capital. We'll see how long it lasts though -- if it gets appealed to the federal courts, there's going to be much pressure from the Bushistas.
A federal judge yesterday refused to block a D.C. law banning the rail shipment of hazardous materials through the city, saying that the District is entitled to take steps to protect itself from a catastrophic accident because the federal government has failed to do so.
U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan also ruled that CSX Transportation Inc. and the federal government had not provided evidence that the railroad or rail security would suffer irreparable harm if the company were forced to reroute rail cars of hazardous chemicals around the District. CSX filed suit in February to overturn the D.C. ban, and the federal government joined on the railroad's behalf.
In his decision, Sullivan said that the railroad made "only vague predictions of increased costs and logistical burdens" that "pale in comparison to the potential devastation predicted to occur in the event of a terrorist attack on a railcar transporting hazmats in the Nation's Capital." and an interesting little snip
Sullivan said in his ruling that the federal government did not present a comprehensive rail security plan to him. The judge noted that former deputy Homeland Security adviser Richard Falkenrath warned Congress in January that "since 9/11 we have essentially done nothing" to make the storage and transport of toxic chemicals more secure. :scared:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63001-2005Apr18.html
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