"An issue of great concern:" Committee to discuss use of rail lines to transport crude oil in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Responding to the concerns of Milwaukee residents -- especially in the Third and Fifth Wards, Public Safety Committee chair Alderman Robert Bauman says the committee will hear a report Wednesday, April 8th on the use of rail lines to transport crude oil through the city of Milwaukee.

“Given recent incidents that have demonstrated the potential for disastrous accidents along rail lines where crude oil is transported, this is an issue of great concern for our residents,” Alderman Bauman said. “We need to have a serious discussion about what powers the city has to determine what comes rolling through on our rail lines, and what responsibility is borne by other levels of government.”

Over the past couple years, several accidents, fires and explosions related to Bakken oil carried in rail cars have spurred calls for tougher regulations. Most notably, a runaway train explosion leveled much of the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec in 2013, killing 47 people. Just last month, a BNSF Railway Co. train carrying Bakken crude jumped the track near Galena, Ill. and burned for several days.

The communication file is scheduled to be heard in a Public Safety Committee meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 8 in Room 301-B of City Hall.

Public safety and rail industry officials will take part in the discussion, and the meeting will also be broadcast live on the City Channel and online at milwaukee.gov/citychannel.