I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5868 
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 
DECEMBER 11, 2014 
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 1000 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. 
(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 
Canada) is ‘‘more volatile than most other types of 
crude,’’ and subsequently, more flammable. 
(9) The samples that PHMSA tested from the 
Bakken region ‘‘displayed characteristics consistent 
with those of a Class 3 flammable liquid, PG I or 
II, with a predominance to PG I, the most dan-
gerous class of Class 3 flammable liquids’’. 
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(10) The oil industry group North Dakota Pe-
troleum Council has recommended that Bakken 
crude oil be labeled as PG I hazardous materials for 
transportation. 
(11) Oil from the Bakken region accounts for 
about 12 percent of total domestic production. 
(12) The National Transportation Safety Board 
(NTSB) has expressed concern ‘‘that major loss of 
life, property damage and environmental con-
sequences can occur when large volumes of crude oil 
or other flammable liquids are transported on a sin-
gle train involved in an accident’’. 
(13) The NTSB has recommended that routes 
transporting hazardous materials present the fewest 
overall safety and security risks by avoiding popu-
lated areas. 
SEC. 2. STUDY ON IMPACT OF DIVERTING CERTAIN 
FREIGHT RAIL TO AVOID URBAN AREAS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor-
tation shall make appropriate arrangements with the 
Transportation Research Board of the National Acad-
emies under which the Board shall conduct a study on 
the cost and impact of rerouting freight rail traffic con-
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taining hazardous material to avoid transportation of such 
hazardous material through urban areas. 
(b) CONTENTS
OF STUDY.—The study described 
under subsection (a) shall include— 
(1) the benefits of rerouting freight rail traffic 
containing hazardous material to alternate existing 
railroad routes that avoid urban areas, including 
benefits to the health and safety of the individuals 
living in such urban areas; 
(2) the benefits of construction of alternative 
railroad routes that avoid urban areas for transpor-
tation of freight rail containing hazardous material; 
(3) the logistical feasibility of the actions de-
scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2); and 
(4) the costs of taking the actions described in 
paragraphs (1) and (2). 
(c) REPORT.—In entering into an arrangement under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall request that the Board 
transmit to Congress a report on the results of the study 
not later than 21 months after the date of enactment of 
this Act. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.— 
(1) HAZARDOUS MATERIAL.—The term ‘‘haz-
ardous material’’ has the meaning given such term 
in section 5102 of title 49, United States Code. 
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(2) URBAN
AREA.—The term ‘‘urban area’’ 
means an urban area, as designated by the Bureau 
of the Census, with a population of greater than 
30,000. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated $850,000 to carry out 
this Act. 
Æ 
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