Lawmakers Want Override Of Christie Veto Of Oil Train Transparency Bill

"The Assembly speaker said Wednesday he will push to override Gov. Chris Christie's conditional veto last week of a bill that would have provided the public and first responders with more information about trains hauling volatile crude oil through communities in New Jersey.

The comment from Speaker Vincent Prieto, D-Secaucus, came after 50 Bergen County residents rallied Wednesday afternoon on a Teaneck bridge over the CSX River Line tracks where millions of gallons of Bakken crude pass through each week on its way to refineries. The number of oil trains has dropped in recent years due to a slowdown in well production and the building of more pipelines.

The bill would have required CSX and Norfolk Southern rail companies to provide emergency response and cleanup plans to the state, which would then be turned over to county and municipal emergency personnel. The bill would also require rail companies to put the routes and volumes of the cargo on a publicly accessible website."

Scott Fallon reports for the Bergen Record July 19, 2017.