Organizations demand the Transportation Secretary revisit a repealed brake safety rule, or else they “will consider taking legal action.”
By Rebecca Burns, The Lever
Six environmental groups will consider legal action if the Department of Transportation fails to act on a key rail safety rule, the groups wrote Thursday in a letter to Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The rule in question would force railroads to begin upgrading freight trains’ Civil War-era braking systems to newer, electronically controlled brakes allowing for faster and safer stops. In 2017, after rail industry donors delivered more than $6 million to GOP campaigns, President Donald Trump’s administration repealed the 2015 rule requiring the newer brakes in some trains transporting hazardous materials, as The Lever reported last week.
In 2018, environmental groups, including Earthjustice and the Sierra Club, appealed the move by the Trump administration, citing a faulty cost-benefit analysis used to justify the repeal. An investigation earlier that year from the Associated Press revealed that the Trump administration omitted at least $117 million in estimated damages from train derailments when it determined that the costs of upgrading electronic braking systems would exceed the benefits.
Recent Posts
The Terrorists Are Running The U.S. Government
Take Action Now Trump seems like a random spasmodic imbecile, but what we are seeing is an extension of the ongoing, centuries-long shifting of power…
Elon Musk Decimated The Government And Saved Almost Nothing
Take Action Now Elon Musk’s cuts may have “saved” the public less than half a percent of the national debt, but they are already making Americans…
Will Corporate Media Call Out A Constitutional Crisis?
Take Action Now Corporate media is failing to rise to the moment and give an honest accounting of the damage being done to our Democracy.By Ari…
‘We Had To Fight’: Jamaal Bowman And Cori Bush Talk AIPAC
Take Action Now The two former members of Congress pull back the curtain on US politics to discuss lobbying, corruption, and more.By Team Zeteo,…