HELENA — The chairman of the Montana Public Service Commission said Wednesday he is open to the idea of removing rail safety oversight from his agency, which is one of the recommendations in a recent audit that faulted the PSC for inadequate safety planning.
The PSC’s primary mission is utility regulation, and that’s where most of its resources go, while rail safety is not really in keeping with that mission, said Chairman Brad Johnson during a meeting to address the Legislative Audit Division’s report.
“I think the entire rail safety question resides here not so much by design and intent as it does by default,” Johnson said. He said afterward that the program may be better off with the Montana Department of Transportation.
Transportation department officials did not exactly embrace the prospect. The department’s mission is not regulatory, but infrastructure improvement and maintenance, said spokeswoman Charity Watt.
“The major issue that was uncovered in the audit was inadequate resources. That’s going to be the issue no matter who’s in charge,” she added.
Johnson was speaking for himself and not the entire commission, which plans to examine all options to improve the rail safety program in the coming months, PSC spokesman Eric Sell said. The aim is to have a proposed bill before state lawmakers in time for the 2017 legislative session, Sell said.
The October audit faulted the PSC for not having a rail safety plan, not conducting a risk assessment, not engaging in regional rail safety issues and having no goals other than meeting the minimum number of track inspections each year. The safety issue is a concern given the increased train traffic carrying volatile crude oil from the Bakken region of North Dakota, the audit said.
The two inspectors employed by the PSC are not enough to adequately cover the state, the report said.
The audit recommended adding an inspector. Johnson said the best situation would be to have four inspectors and a supervisor to ensure inspections can happen seven days a week, instead of the current four days, but there is no money in the budget for those hires.
Commissioners invited railroad company representatives and officials from other state agencies to Wednesday’s meeting for their comments on ways to improve rail safety. Commissioner Kirk Bushman suggested the PSC’s role is to “spot-check” the rail companies’ own inspections to make sure they’re doing what they are supposed to.
BNSF Railway spokesman Matt Jones said the company employs 45 full-time inspectors and submits data to the Federal Railroad Administration that can be accessed by the state.
Johnson said all options will be considered as the commission continues to investigate the problem, including what it would take to create a safety plan and asking lawmakers for money to hire more staff.
The PSC will do whatever the Legislature gives it the authority — and the funding — to do, Johnson said.