Portland (ME) Press Herald via Government Technology, 4/17/24
Maine Law Amps Up Reporting Requirements for RailroadsThe bill was introduced last year to address the public’s right to know after a derailment that sent three locomotives and six rail cars off the tracks, including two carrying hazardous materials.
(TNS) - Maine has a new law that amps up reporting requirements for freight railroads transporting hazardous materials through the state.
Gov. Janet Mills signed L.D. 1937, an emergency bill, into law Friday, creating a system of state oversight that railroads have never experienced in Maine.
The bill was introduced last year to address concerns about the public's right to information that emerged after a derailment in Rockwood last April sent three locomotives and six rail cars off the tracks, including two carrying hazardous materials. . . .
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The new law, which has taken effect almost exactly a year after the Rockwood derailment, looks very different from the original version of the bill. It expands the public's ability to access the state's information about freight trains, but only after a derailment or spill has occurred.
