Sen. Charles Schumer of New York is introducing new legislation that would require railroads carry crude oil in newer, safer containers within 2 years, a full year sooner than new regulations introduced by the Department of Transportation.

Along with the new, safer rail cars, the proposed legislation would require trains to travel at slower speeds through populated areas.

Currently, The DOT has rules in place to phase out the older rail cars by the end of 2018 for only the most volatile class of crude oil. Sen. Schumer's proposal would phase out the older cars by 2017, and require them for the top 2 most volatile classes of crude. The volatility comes from the high natural gas content in the crude, like that found in the Bakken.

 

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