City Council Passes Resolution On CSX Storage Tankers

Fredericksburg VA

25 February, 2021

1:23 PM

Description

Press release from the City of Fredericksburg: Posted on: February 24, 2021 Posted on: February 24, 2021 City Council Passes Resolution on CSX Storage Tankers On Tuesday evening Fredericksburg City Council unanimously passed Resolution 21-14 Objecting to Storage of Rail Tanker Cars with Hazardous Materials in the City of Fredericksburg, and Demand CSX Discontinue the Practice Now. The City of Fredericksburg has been served by passenger and freight traffic on rail lines owned and operated by CSX or its predecessors for many years. CSX also maintains a rail yard in the Mayfield neighborhood of the City. The City has endeavored to be a good partner to CSX whenever issues arise associated with the presence of rail lines and operations in the City. The storage of rail tanker cars, with hazardous and flammable contents for unspecified periods of time, in close proximity to homes on Railroad Avenue, has been an issue of serious concern to the City and the residents of the Mayfield neighborhood in recent years. Much of the last decade was spent advancing persistent demands by the City that this potentially hazardous situation be addressed by CSX. With the involvement and support of the Commonwealth of Virginia, CSX finally constructed a storage rail spur at a further distance from homes. However, the practice of storing tanker cars on the main line along Railroad Avenue, with unknown contents and for unspecified periods of time, has resumed. Last night City Council resolved the following: It re-states and confirms its position that the practice of parking tanker rail cars with hazardous contents and for unknown duration in the vicinity of the Railroad Avenue residential area creates serious and legitimate safety concerns for nearby residents, the residents of the larger Mayfield neighborhood and the City as a whole; The Council thus confirms its previous strong opposition to this practice; And, the Council demands that CSX immediately discontinue prolonged storage of all tanker cars with hazardous materials along Railroad Avenue, and asks that they come to detail their plan to the community near-term. Read City Council's Resolution 21-14 Read Letter from CSX to Fredericksburg City Council This press release was produced by the City of Fredericksburg. The views expressed here are the author's own.