House Concurrent Resolution 122 PAG LIN 1 1 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 1 2 BY T. TAYLOR and HUSER 1 3 (COMPANION TO LSB 6933SS BY McCOY) 1 4 A Concurrent Resolution urging the Federal Railroad 1 5 Administration to conduct regulatory proceedings 1 6 regarding remote control locomotive operations by 1 7 railroad companies. 1 8 WHEREAS, one of the primary goals of the Iowa 1 9 General Assembly is to protect the safety of the 1 10 citizens of the State of Iowa; and 1 11 WHEREAS, the Iowa General Assembly is dedicated to 1 12 the proposition that all Iowans have a right to a safe 1 13 environment, free from the danger of uncontrolled 1 14 releases of hazardous materials; and 1 15 WHEREAS, railroad companies that operate in Iowa 1 16 transport large amounts of hazardous chemicals, and 1 17 those chemicals are subject to uncontrolled releases 1 18 or spillage when railroad cars carrying the chemicals 1 19 are ruptured during derailments or collisions; and 1 20 WHEREAS, railroad companies operating in Iowa have 1 21 implemented remote control locomotive operations in 1 22 which unmanned locomotives are used to switch railcars 1 23 containing hazardous materials, or to switch cars on 1 24 tracks adjacent to cars carrying hazardous materials, 1 25 occupied locomotives, and passenger trains; and 1 26 WHEREAS, in the United States, railroad companies 1 27 have been allowed to implement these remote control 1 28 operations without Federal Railroad Administration 1 29 regulations, in spite of a request in November 2000 by 1 30 the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen 2 1 to the Federal Railroad Administration to initiate a 2 2 rulemaking procedure; and 2 3 WHEREAS, on November 29, 2000, the Federal Railroad 2 4 Administration established FRA Docket No. 2000=8422 to 2 5 engage in rulemaking regarding remote control 2 6 locomotive operations, and thus far, the Federal 2 7 Railroad Administration has declined to provide such 2 8 rulemaking; NOW THEREFORE, 2 9 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE 2 10 SENATE CONCURRING, That the Iowa General Assembly 2 11 calls upon the Federal Railroad Administration to 2 12 reopen FRA Docket No. 2000=8422 so that railroad 2 13 employees, citizens, and communities that may be 2 14 affected can register their concerns about the safety 2 15 of railroad operations; and 2 16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this 2 17 Resolution be sent to the President of the United 2 18 States, the Administrator of the Federal Railroad 2 19 Administration, and the members of Iowa's 2 20 congressional delegation. 2 21 LSB 6933HH 80 2 22 dea/cf/24