I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1290 
To provide for a study by the Transportation Research Board of the National 
Academies on the impact of diverting certain freight rail traffic to avoid 
urban areas, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 4, 2015 
Mr. ELLISON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To provide for a study by the Transportation Research 
Board of the National Academies on the impact of divert-
ing certain freight rail traffic to avoid urban areas, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The volume of crude oil transported by rail 
has significantly increased from— 
(A) 21,000 barrels a day in 2009 to 1.1 
million barrels a day in 2014; and 
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(B) 9,500 rail-carloads in 2008 to 415,000 
rail-carloads in 2013. 
(2) At any given time, more than 2.5 million 
gallons of crude oil is being transported across the 
country to refineries totaling a distance of more 
than 1,000 miles. 
(3) More oil was spilled in 2013 from freight 
traffic than in the previous 4 decades combined. 
(4) Increased spills result in catastrophes that 
have significantly and adversely impacted the fol-
lowing communities: 
(A) Minnesota, in March 2013, when 
30,000 gallons of crude oil spilled because of 
derailed cars. 
(B) Lac-Me´gantic, Canada, in July 2013, 
when 1.6 million gallons of crude oil spilled, ig-
niting a fire and exploding, killing 47 people 
and forcing 2,000 people from their homes. 
(C) North Dakota, in December 2013, 
when 400,000 million gallons of crude oil 
spilled, igniting a fire and forcing 65 percent of 
residents from their homes. 
(D) Virginia, in March 2014, when thou-
sands of gallons of oil spilled, contaminating 
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the James River and requiring the evacuation 
of 78,000 people in the downtown of the city. 
(E) West Virginia, in February 2015, 
when 26 cars containing oil that exceeded vola-
tility standards for transport derailed, igniting 
fires and explosions, threatening the water sup-
ply, and forcing hundreds of people from their 
homes. 
(5) Hazardous materials must be properly clas-
sified for transportation, according to requirements 
from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
Administration (PHMSA). 
(6) Crude oil is categorized as a Class 3 flam-
mable liquid in either Packing Group (PG) I or II. 
(7) Due to serious mislabeling practices, the 
Department of Transportation’s Emergency Order 
(Docket No. DOT–OST–2014–0025) from February 
2014 has forbidden the labeling of crude oil as PG 
III for transport and handling until further notice; 
shipments must be labeled as either PG I (most seri-
ous hazard) or PG II (moderate hazard) for proper 
handling and transport of crude oil. 
(8) PHMSA has found that crude oil from the 
Bakken region (in North Dakota, Montana, and 
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