Preparation and response required by railroad corporations in the event of discharge of transported materials and making an appropriation. (FE)

The bill requires a railroad corporation operating a train that discharges material to notify emergency responders of the chemical contents of the discharged material within 15 minutes of the arrival of the responders to the scene of the discharge. Within one hour, the corporation must provide a representative to advise the local incident commander. Within three hours, the corporation must deliver monitoring equipment and qualified personnel to assess the discharge. Within eight hours, the corporation must deliver equipment capable of containing 10 percent of the discharge. Within 60 hours, the corporation must deliver equipment capable of containing 100 percent of the discharge.

The bill increases the authorized positions at the Department of Transportation by four and requires DOT to employ rail safety inspectors who will inspect railroad tracks, rights-of-way, yards, and physical plants and review railroad safety requirements, security measures, and maintenance and repair records.

The bill requires the Office of the Commissioner of Railroads to reimburse fire departments and local organizations for emergency management for certain expenses associated with the training required under the bill. The bill requires OCR to assess each railroad corporation a proportionate share, based on route miles operated in this state, of OCR's expenses related to the rail inspection and training required by the bill.

The bill requires WEM to review emergency preparedness plans submitted as required under the bill and to work with OCR to provide emergency preparedness training. The bill requires WEM to compile data about incidents and to report findings to the legislature. The bill requires WEM to submit to the legislature no later than January 15, 2019, a report on the emergency preparedness response framework within the state relating to incidents involving hazardous materials transported by rail. The report must include an assessment of training needs and must establish benchmarks for assessing training needs in the future. The bill also requires WEM to submit to the legislature no later than November 1, 2019, an update to the initial report that evaluates the effectiveness of training conducted and identifies funding sources and future funding needs.

The bill requires DOT to submit to the legislature no later than November 1, 2019, a report that includes information to assist in risk management associated with rail transportation of hazardous materials, criteria for prioritizing at-grade crossing improvements, recommendations for safety improvements, and an analysis of rail inspection activities.