"A group of House and Senate Republicans are pressing the Department of Transportation to intervene against a Washington state law that they say could prevent the shipment of Bakken crude oil and natural gas to Pacific Northwest ports and refiners.
In a letter sent earlier this week but made public today, the group of 32 lawmakers urged the federal government to preempt the state law through Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration authorities.
The reason, the lawmakers argued, is that the new law set to go into force in 2020 would effectively prevent the movement of crude oil by rail through Washington.
That alleged blockade could upset the nearly 16 million barrels of crude shipped quarterly through the state from North Dakota and Montana, the lawmakers said."
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