In the past several years, rail has increasingly been used to ship crude oil, a flammable liquid. Even though crude oil shipments by rail have declined in the past year, from January 2010 to October 2014 shipments increased over 30 times, peaking at almost 36 million barrels or about 51,000 rail carloads in October 2014 (see fig. 1). This increase is due to pipeline capacity constraints in certain areas of the country, including the Bakken shale region in North Dakota. As shipments of crude oil have increased, the number of rail accidents involving crude oil has also increased, even as rail accidents involving all hazardous materials have declined. From 2006 to 2010, there were 19 rail incidents involving crude oil, 4 of which were designated by PHMSA as serious rail incidents—compared with 399 crude oil rail incidents from 2011 to 2015— 21 of which were designated by PHMSA as serious. Serious accidents can involve derailments, collisions, and release of materials. Depending on the commodities a train is carrying, releases can involve not only crude oil, which is flammable, but also a variety of chemicals such as sodium hydroxide which can irritate the eyes and burn the skin. The railroad industry is dominated by the seven largest railroads, known as Class I railroads, which transport the majority of rail freight—including hazardous materials—across a network of 200,000 miles of track, mostly in rural areas. In addition, numerous Class II and hundreds of Class III railroads have essential roles in moving freight, typically linking rural communities to the larger railroad network. According to DOT, about 18 percent of all Class I carload freight originates or terminates on a Class II or Class III railroad, often called “first mile” and “last mile” movements. Federal, state, and local entities all play a role related to emergency preparedness for rail accidents involving crude oil and other hazardous materials. For example, DOT oversees compliance with safety regulations applicable to the rail transportation of hazardous materials. Specifically, PHMSA—through its Office of Hazardous Materials Safety—issues regulations that apply to shippers and railroads transporting hazardous materials, like crude oil. PHMSA also provides grants to states to fund training for local responders. As mentioned previously, DOT issued an Emergency Order in May 2014 that requires railroads planning to operate trains transporting 1-million gallons or more of Bakken crude oil to notify states of the expected movement along the routes. The Emergency Order focused on ensuring that state and local emergency responders know the frequency and number of Bakken crude-oil trains moving through their jurisdictions. FRA provides regulatory oversight for both passenger and freight rail, issuing and enforcing safety regulations. FRA enforces its own regulations and the HMR, through its inspections and audits conducted by FRA officials and state partners in some states. In addition, state officials, local emergency planners, and the railroads also play specific roles in planning and preparing for emergencies, specifically: Based on EPCRA, each state is required to establish a SERC that acts as the emergency-planning focal point and that is responsible for designating emergency-planning districts and appointing LEPCs for each district. The SERC supervises the activities of the LEPCs. LEPC membership includes representatives from police, fire, civil defense, health, transportation (including rail), environmental agencies, among others. These entities plan, gather, and share information about emergency preparedness and arrange for emergency responders’ training. Local emergency-planning agencies prepare local emergency plans that include emergency response plans, training requirements for emergency responders (e.g., police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians), and other vital hazardous material response information. Local emergency-planning agencies may also prepare commodity flow studies. Most U.S. firefighters are volunteers. Under DOT’s Emergency Order, the railroads support emergency responders by providing SERCs with information about expected movements of trains carrying Bakken crude oil. In addition, since 1996, railroads that ship oil in containers exceeding 3,500 gallons must prepare response plans that document that they have trained personnel, placed equipment, and established procedures to respond to an oil spill. PHMSA has recently proposed in coordination with FRA, expanding the oil-spill response-planning requirements to require railroads to obtain FRA approval for more detailed, comprehensive oil-spill response plans for high-hazard flammable trains carrying petroleum oil. Recently enacted legislation may change the responsibilities of some stakeholders. In December 2015, President Obama signed into law the FAST Act, which requires DOT to codify and expand the information sharing requirement relative to the existing Emergency Order’s notification requirements for trains carrying 1-million gallons or more of Bakken crude oil. In accordance with the FAST Act, in July 2016 PHMSA proposed regulations (the same as mentioned above) to require railroads to share information on a monthly basis about high-hazard flammable trains’ operations with state (i.e., SERC) and tribal emergency response commissions. “High hazard flammable trains” are those that transport (1) 20 or more tank cars loaded with a Class 3 flammable liquid in a continuous block or (2) a total of 35 or more tank cars carrying such materials. The FAST Act also directs DOT to require railroads to provide, through the applicable fusion center, emergency responders with real-time access to information about the train’s hazardous materials shipments in the case of a train accident. While planning is conducted by a range of participants, local emergency responders and railroad train crews are typically first on the scene in the immediate aftermath of this type of accident. Firefighters, police, and emergency medical technicians assess and secure the scene, as described in figure 2. For example, local and sometimes regional officials may be responsible for advising the public on taking shelter-in-place actions or conducting evacuations of affected populations. In addition, assuming they are not affected by an accident, railroad train crews are expected to provide local emergency responders with information about the type and quantity of hazardous materials on the train, the position of the train’s contents, and the emergency contact information (referred to as hazardous materials documentation), as described in figure 2. According to the HMR, railroads are required to provide notice of certain hazardous materials accidents to the National Response Center. After the initial response, local emergency responders and railroads as well as state and federal agencies have various responsibilities for mitigating and investigating an accident (see fig. 2 above). Mitigation: According to AAR, railroads have hazardous materials accident management personnel and employ hazardous materials response contractors and environmental consultants that provide spill response tools and equipment. Federal and state environmental agencies are responsible for assisting this effort and monitoring and evaluating the environmental damage. States are required to notify EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard, which may send representatives to the accident scene to assist in or direct response activities resulting from a hazardous materials release or discharge. Investigation: FRA monitors train accidents and investigates their causes and compliance with existing safety laws and regulations. Per its discretion, the National Transportation Safety Board investigates some railroad accidents and issues safety recommendations aimed at preventing future accidents. Training is a key aspect of planning and preparing for emergency response and mitigation. Federal regulations require that firefighters and other responders receive hazardous-materials emergency response training. When such training is provided, federal statutes regarding occupational health and safety indicate that it must be based on training standards set by a recognized, standard-setting organization, such as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). NFPA standards detail the specific knowledge that trainees must have to be considered competent to provide varying levels of response to hazardous materials accidents, as we describe later in this report. Additionally, DOT officials stated that FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute serves as the national focal point for the development and delivery of emergency management training to enhance the capabilities of state, local, and tribal government officials, volunteer organizations, FEMA’s disaster workforce, federal agencies, and the public and private sectors to minimize the impact of disasters and emergencies. Local emergency planners from almost all of the counties we contacted reported that their emergency responders participated in training, exercises, or drills (“training”) to prepare for responding to rail hazardous materials incidents. Specifically, emergency planners from 21 of 22 counties (13 urban and 8 rural) indicated that emergency responders had participated in rail hazardous materials classroom or hands-on training and 20 reported their emergency responders had participated in rail hazardous materials exercises or drills. About half of the emergency planners (13 of 22) reported that their emergency responders had received rail hazardous-materials training by independent study or webinar. Hazardous materials training may be provided by state or local emergency management agencies, colleges and associations with specialized programs, chemical producers, and railroads, among others. As discussed later, PHMSA provides grants to states to fund training for local responders. Also, as noted earlier, FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute serves as a national focal point for emergency management training. Most local emergency planners reported that the rail hazardous-materials training was useful for helping their emergency responders prepare for and respond to rail hazardous materials incidents. Local emergency planners from 18 counties (9 urban and 9 rural) reported that such training was very useful, 4 reported it was somewhat useful, and 3 reported they were uncertain about its usefulness. Some emergency planners told us that training that involved “hands on” experience was particularly helpful because it facilitated direct interaction with devices and props that emergency responders would not normally encounter except in a real-world incident. Other emergency planners told us that training provides a way for emergency responders to interact face to face with some of the stakeholders they might normally encounter in an incident, such as railroad hazardous materials experts and personnel from other fire departments. Such interaction can facilitate relationships among stakeholders by increasing familiarity and building trust.