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Legal Petition Seeks NY Ban On Outdated Rail Cars

Harvey Henkelmann/Wikimedia Commons

A coalition of environmental groups and city residents has filed a legal petition seeking a ban on older model rail tanker cars carrying volatile crude oil from North Dakota to the Port of Albany.

The petition filed Tuesday by a group represented by Earthjustice asks Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens to issue an order prohibiting receipt of crude in DOT-111 tank cars at the port.

A DEC spokesman said the federal government has sole authority to regulate oil transport by rail.

The federal DOT has proposed phasing out these cars, which have been involved in a series of catastrophic explosions. Earthjustice has a legal case against the government for an emergency ban on the old cars.

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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