The Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of this article is to protect the health and safety of the public and to improve the safety of transporting hazardous materials by rail.
Railroad CorporationsHazardous Materials Transportation by Rail
Section § 7671
This law aims to safeguard public health and safety by enhancing the safe transportation of hazardous materials via trains.
hazardous materials public health and safety train safety
Section § 7672
This law section defines what hazardous material means for the article it's part of. It references two specific definitions: one from the federal regulations and one from the state's Health and Safety Code.
For purposes of this article, “hazardous material” means either of the following:
(a)CA Public Utilities Code § 7672(a) A hazardous material, as defined in Section 171.8 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(b)CA Public Utilities Code § 7672(b) A hazardous material, as defined in Section 25501 of the Health and Safety Code.
hazardous material definition Section 171.8 Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations
Section § 7672.5
If a railroad corporation has an incident where hazardous materials are released or could be released, they must report the details right away. This report must follow the rules set out in Section 25507 of the Health and Safety Code.
Any railroad corporation which is involved in an incident resulting in a release, or threatened release, of a hazardous material shall immediately report the type and extent of the release or threatened release in the manner specified in Section 25507 of the Health and Safety Code.
railroad corporation hazardous material release threatened release
Section § 7673
Railroad companies moving hazardous materials in California must follow specific safety and reporting requirements. They need to provide system maps detailing important landmarks and pipeline locations to the Office of Emergency Services and the Public Utilities Commission. Annually, they must submit emergency handling guidelines for hazardous materials, with class I carriers sending additional copies for distribution. In the event of a train incident that involves hazardous materials, they must quickly provide emergency responders with detailed information about the train's cars, their contents, and emergency handling instructions for the materials.
Each railroad corporation which transports hazardous materials in the state shall do all of the following:
(a)CA Public Utilities Code § 7673(a) Provide a system map of the state to the Office of Emergency Services and to the Public Utilities Commission, showing practical groupings of mileposts on the system and showing mileposts of stations, terminals, junction points, road crossings, and the locations of natural gas and liquid pipelines in railroad rights-of-way.
(b)CA Public Utilities Code § 7673(b) Annually submit to the Office of Emergency Services a copy of a publication which identifies emergency handling guidelines for the surface transportation of hazardous materials, except that if the railroad
corporation is classified as a class I carrier by the Interstate Commerce Commission pursuant to Subpart A of Part 1201 of Subchapter C of Chapter X of the Code of Federal Regulations, the railroad corporation shall annually submit to the Office of Emergency Services 50 copies of this publication which the agency shall make available to the Public Utilities Commission and local administering agencies and to other response agencies. These guidelines shall not be considered comprehensive instructions for the handling of any specific incident.
(c)CA Public Utilities Code § 7673(c) If there is a train incident resulting in a release or an overturned railcar or an impact which threatens a release of a hazardous material, provide the emergency response agency with all of the following information:
(1)CA Public Utilities Code § 7673(c)(1) A list of each car in
the train and the order of the cars.
(2)CA Public Utilities Code § 7673(c)(2) The contents of each car, if loaded, in the train.
(3)CA Public Utilities Code § 7673(c)(3) Identification of the cars and contents in the train which are involved in the incident, including, but not limited to, those cars which have derailed.
(4)CA Public Utilities Code § 7673(c)(4) Emergency handling procedures for each hazardous material transported in or on the involved cars of the train.
railroad corporation hazardous materials system map
