NOVEMBER 6, 2015--On November 5, 2015, OR&R’s Emergency Response Division participated in the Roundtable “State of Rail Oil Spill Planning on the West Coast” in Portland, Oregon, sponsored by the Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force.

The goal of the roundtable was to convene a forum of representatives from the rail industry along with federal, state, and local governments with regulatory responsibilities to discuss preparing for and responding to oil spills by rail. The forum was intended to foster conversation on appropriate measures and best response practices that could be implemented in the near future to ensure an advanced level of readiness across the region to address the rapid increase in movement of oil by rail. Participants included representatives from BNSF Railway, Union Pacific Railway, Southern Railway of British Columbia, the Yakama Nation, Confederated States of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Pipelines Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, B.C. Ministry of the Environment, U.S. EPA, U.S. Coast Guard, Columbia Riverkeeper , and from the states of Oregon, Washington, and California, and local governments.

For more information, contact Ruth.Yender@noaa.gov.

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