NEWS RELEASE RIVERSIDE POLICE DEPARTMENT 31 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois 60546 30 November 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Chief Tom Weitzel 708 4472127. tweitzel@riverside.jl.us iverside Police Chief Objects to Rail Safety 100 Minute Decision Calls 100 Minute Rule Simply Unrealistic On Tuesday, November 17, Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel wrote a letter to United States Department of Transportation Secretary, Anthony R. Foxx, outlining concems and his objection to the recent rejection by the U.S. Department of Transportation for a higher time threshold fr rail safety when it relates to tank cars, (On November 10, the U.S. Department of Transportation, which was in ai battle with rairoads and other interested parties over rules requiring installation of expensive new brakes on trains hauling hazardous flammable materials, rejected an appeal from the railfoad industry to toughen the serviceability of tank cars that carry hazmat ike crude oll and ethanol. ln May the U.S. Department of Transportation ruled that the new and retrofited tank cars must have enough thermal protection to survive 100 minutes in a poo! offre, meaning burning oil Railroads and other organizations, like Riverside Police Department, urged the standards be tougher - as much as 800 minutes - which would give first responders more appropriate time to react. This request was rejected. Chief Weitzel relayed that if Riverside had a crude oil or flammable material accident it would take hours just to get ‘mutual ad in place to assist from a police standpoint. He stated the 100 minute rule was simply ridiculous and will not work for law enforcement agencies. “Chief Weitzel stated, “Riverside, ike many other small municipalities along the Burlington Northem Railroad lines, would rave to rely on mutual aid from long distances and would require officers to make the call for mutual aid. Officers would then have to drive to get to the scene to respond, then find @ staging area, and then suit up in protective gear - before being given directions by command personnel on ther role in evacuation or mitigation, Thereby, the 100 minute rule, simply wil not work’. Chief Weitzel also declared that the 100 minute rule needs to be rejected and some compromise between the ‘800 minutes requested by railroad and public safety agencies and the 100 minutes already decided upon by the U.S, Transportation Department, needs to find middle ground, “tf this does not happen police officers lives will be directly affected by this decision, | am saying police officers will be severely injured or killed’. Chief Weitzel also sent a letter in May of 2015 outining his concerns on crude oil safety along rail crossings.gs Tigo POLICE DEPARTMENT 31 RIVERSIDE ROAD + RIVERSIDE, ILLINOIS 60546-2299 - 708/447-2127 17 Novernber 2015 OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE The Honorable Secretary Anthony R. Foxx U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 RE: Rail Safety-100 Minute Decision Dear Secretary Foxx: T'm writing today to file an official objection and a major concern on the rejection of the call for tougher fire-resistant of railroad tank cars carrying highly flammable crude oil and othe: hazardous materials. Each day through the Chicago and its suburbs, like Riverside, these trains have the potential to cause a catastrophe along the railroad right-of-way as the result of a crash, a mishap, or a purposeful attack against railroad property. Tam very concerned that the US, Department of Transportation firm in standing by its decision (issued last spring) to require new retrofitted tank cars to,withstand engulfed fires and pools of burning liquid for only 100 minutes without exploding. This is simply unrealistic and cannot possibly benefit first responders such as law enforcement personnel. Asa police chief, speaking from the perspective of first responders, it’s nearly always the case that police arrive first at train crashes or other incidents along railroad. In Riverside, if a tanker car had an accident with crude oil or other flammable material, Riverside Police would need mutual aid from police agencies from as far as 75 miles from our corporate limits, (We have a mutual aid plan through a statewide organization Known as ILEAS or the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System).100 Minutes / Response to Railroad Incidents - 1 5 - Pg 2 of 2 One may think we would need only immediate assistance from neighboring jurisdictions, but that would not be the case in this type of incident. The scenario would likely play out like this: - amutual aid call would go out to assisting agencies, - officers would drive and respond to Riverside - officers then would locate the staging area - officers would then be issued safety protective gear and dress for incident - officers would then obtain their assignments from local Command to either assist in evacuation or mitigation of the railroad right of way incident. As you can imagine, 100 minutes is not enough time for this to occur! As secretary, I urge you to intervene with the US. Department of Transportation and extend the life of the retrofitted tanker cars to 800 minutes of burn time or some other agreed upon middle ground between 800 and 100 minutes and 100 minutes of bum time will not work. I'm going on the record stating that this will potentially harm and possibly cause loss of life for first responders. Tm very concerned about these issues as Riverside has as many as 80-120 trains daily passing through Riverside. Of course, all are not tankers - we've many commuter trains and also freights sometime carrying flammables that go through Riverside daily. Task that you take this under immediate advisement. I would be happy to provide any testimony you need to assist in this matter or any other supportive material from me personally or Riverside Ilinois Police Department. C: Village Manager Jessica Frances Village President Ben Sells and Board of Trustees Riverside Fize/ EMS Chief Matthew Buckley US. Senator Richard J. Durbin Ilinois Governor Bruce Rauner