Martinez News- Gazette- Rail, refinery security bill passes House, moves to president

Legislation authored by U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5) to enhance rail and refinery security passed the U.S. House of Rep­resent­atives as part of H.R. 4681, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015. Thompson's legislation re­quires the Department of Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis (DHS I&A) to conduct an intelligence assessment of the security of domestic oil refineries and related rail infrastructure.

After the assessment is conducted, DHS I&A must submit the results of its assessment to the House and Senate Intelligence Co­mmittees, along with any recommendations to improve the security of domestic oil refineries and related rail infrastructure. The recommendations will help officials better protect the communities surrounding refineries and railways from potential harm – including Martinez, which Thompson represents.

"Public safety is my number one priority and through enhanced reporting we can better know if threats exist and how we can fix them," said Thompson. "This law will help make sure we're transporting and holding crude oil and other cargo through and in our communities in a safe manner."

The improved reporting required by Thompson's legislation will help officials better assess the types of threats our nation's oil refineries and railways face so that such threats can be mitigated. This could include improvements to security at refineries, or upgrades to rail infrastructure that could decrease the likelihood of derailments.

Many trains transporting crude oil from the Bakken Shale formation of North Dakota run through Contra Costa County. The crude oil from this region is regarded as highly flammable and this legislation is a step in making sure it is transported safely.

H.R. 4681 passed the House by a vote of 325-100. It now goes to the president to be signed into law.

Tags: Department of Homeland Security, featured, H.R. 4681, Infrastructure, Mike Thompson, Office of Intelligence and Analysis, oil, rail, U.S. House of Rep­resent­atives