Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Rules You Can’t Put Safety Over Profits The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration overturned a move by the State of Washington to better regulate oil trains. As DeSmog reports, that rule aimed to “limit oil vapor pressure unloaded from trains to less than 9 pounds per square inch (psi) in an attempt to reduce the likelihood that train derailments lead to the now-familiar fireballs and explosions accompanying trains transporting volatile oil.” Two weeks after North Dakota oil producers and lobbying groups protested the regulation, PHMSA released an explanation for the ruling, noting that a state can’t use “safety as a pretext for inhibiting market growth.” Status: Effective May 11, 2020
