MAINE, USA — A new bill would require rail companies to disclose the hazardous materials they are carrying and the route the train will travel in Maine.
Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross of Portland introduced the emergency legislation and said the bill would ensure the public’s health and safety from exposure to hazardous materials from trains.
The bill comes after a train carrying hazardous materials, pentamethylheptane, and ethanol derailed in Rockwood back in April.
This bill would repeal a 2015 law, that allows rail companies to keep information about hazardous materials confidential.
If signed into law, this bill would require rail companies to share information with the public about the hazardous materials trains are carrying.
Talbot Ross said the bill must take effect before its 90-day expiration to ensure the public is safe from hazardous materials that could be spilled by rail companies while traveling through the state.