Page 5 - Flathead Beacon // 5.6.15

FLATHEADBEACON.COM
NEWS
A BNSF oil train rolls through Whitefish. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
Transportation Secretary: New Oil Train Rules Will ‘Improve Safety’
MAY 6, 2015 | 5
W•O•R•D•S of the Week
AN INDEX OF RECENT NEWSMAKERS
MEDICAID
Bipartisan support pushed
partial Medicaid expansion through the state Legislature and to Gov. Steve Bullock’s desk, where it was signed into law. The Obama admin- istration expressed concerns about provisions in the new law but it is willing to work with the state to overcome them.
SPARTAN RACE
The Spartan Race is back. This year’s adrenaline-filled event is two days with 7,000 participants registered to brave the grueling courses near Flathead Lake.
RESORT TAX
Voters overwhelmingly ap- proved an increase in White- fish’s resort tax to help pay for a conservation easement in Haskill Basin. The tax on lodging, retail items and restaurant food and drinks will go from 2 percent to 3 percent.
SUN ROAD
While plow crews continue to clear the iconic Going-to- the-Sun Road, park officials are trying to devise ways to manage the heavy crowds in the busy summer months. Last week a list of preliminary proposals was released for public comment.
DOT, Transport Canada announce cross-border rules two years after deadly Quebec oil train wreck
By JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
In an effort to prevent explosive oil train wrecks, United States and Canadian regulators are requiring railroads to use tougher tank cars and install enhanced braking systems.
On May 1, transportation officials from both sides of the border gathered in Wash- ington, D.C. to announce a sweeping set of regulations for oil trains across the conti-
nent. The new rules follow a series of explo- sive accidents and come nearly two years after an oil train derailed and exploded in Quebec, killing 47 people and leveling 30 buildings.
BNSF Railway runs 11 to 16 oil trains a week through Northwest Montana along the boundary of Glacier National Park and along Whitefish Lake, according to infor-
See Oil Trains PAGE 20
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