SB 762

This bill establishes the emergency preparedness required of railroad

corporations transporting hazardous materials in the state and the response

required by railroad corporations if a discharge of hazardous materials occurs.

The bill requires each railroad corporation operating routes over which oil or

other hazardous materials are transported to submit to the Division of Emergency

Management (commonly known as Wisconsin Emergency Management or WEM) a

plan detailing the measures the corporation will take to prevent the discharge of

hazardous materials and to respond to discharges that may occur. Each railroad

corporation is required to provide training to each fire department and local

organization for emergency management along the route upon which the

corporation's trains operate. The training must include response preparedness

relating to discharge and derailments. Each railroad corporation must complete

these requirements once every three years.

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