This bill requires each railroad corporation operating in the state to submit to
the Department of Natural Resources a plan detailing the measures the corporation
will take to prevent the discharge of hazardous materials and to respond to
discharges that may occur. Each railroad corporation is required to provide training
to each fire department along the route upon which the corporation's trains operate.
The training must include response preparedness relating to discharge and
derailments and techniques to assess hazards to the environment. Each railroad
corporation must complete these requirements once every three years.
This bill requires a railroad corporation operating a train that discharges
material to provide an employee to advise the local incident commander within one
hour. Within three hours, the corporation must deliver monitoring equipment and
qualified personnel to assess the discharge. Within eight hours, the corporation
must deliver equipment capable of containing 10 percent of the discharge. Within

60 hours, the corporation must deliver equipment capable of containing 100 percent
of the discharge.
This bill requires the Office of the Commissioner of Railroads (OCR) to employ
rail safety inspectors who will inspect railroad tracks, rights-of-way, yards, and
physical plants and review railroad safety requirements, security measures, and
maintenance and repair records. This bill increases OCR's rail safety inspector
positions by four positions. This bill also requires OCR to reimburse fire
departments for certain expenses associated with the training required by this bill.
This bill requires OCR to assess each railroad corporation a proportionate share,
based on route miles operated in this state, of OCR's expenses related to the rail
inspection and training required by this bill.
This bill requires OCR to submit to the legislature no later than January 15,
2017, a report on the emergency preparedness response framework within the state
relating to incidents involving hazardous materials transported by rail. This report
must include an assessment of training needs and must establish benchmarks for
assessing training needs in the future. This bill also requires OCR to submit to the
legislature no later than November 1, 2017, an update to the initial report that
evaluates the effectiveness of training conducted and identifies funding sources and
future funding needs.
This bill requires the Department of Transportation to submit to the legislature
no later than November 1, 2017, a report that includes information to assist in risk
management associated with rail transportation of hazardous materials, criteria for
prioritizing at-grade crossing improvements, recommendations for safety
improvements, and an analysis of rail inspection activities.
For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB552,1 1Section 1. 20.155 (2) (h) of the statutes is created to read:
AB552,2,42 20.155 (2) (h) Rail inspection, safety training, and response preparedness. All
3moneys received under s. 189.02 (8) for activities of the office of the commissioner of
4railroads under s. 192.45 and for payments under s. 192.45 (2) (b).
AB552,2 5Section 2. 189.02 (2m) of the statutes is created to read:
AB552,2,76 189.02 (2m) (a) The office shall employ rail safety inspectors who shall be
7responsible for all of the following:
AB552,3,2
11. Inspection of mainline track, secondary track, railroad yard tracks, and
2industry track.
AB552,3,53 2. Inspection of railroad rights-of-way, including adjacent or intersecting
4drainage, culverts, bridges, overhead structures, traffic crossings, and other public
5crossings.
AB552,3,66 3. Inspection of railroad yards and physical plants.
AB552,3,77 4. Review and enforcement of safety requirements.
AB552,3,88 5. Review of maintenance and repair records.
AB552,3,99 6. Review of railroad security measures.
AB552,3,1210 (b) The office shall apply to and enter into agreements with the federal railroad
11administration to participate in the federal state rail safety participation program
12for training and certification of rail safety inspectors.
AB552,3,1513 (c) A rail safety inspector who has been trained and certified in any of the
14federal state rail safety participation program disciplines may perform the duties
15relevant to that discipline.
AB552,3,1816 (d) To the extent authorized by the federal railroad administration and the
17office, rail safety inspectors may issue citations for violations of requirements under
18chs. 190 to 192 that are punishable by forfeiture.
AB552,3 19Section 3. 189.02 (8) of the statutes is created to read:
AB552,3,2520 189.02 (8) In addition to any assessment under s. 195.60, the office shall
21annually assess each railroad corporation operating in this state a proportionate
22share, based on route miles operated in this state, of the actual cost of the expenses
23of the office under s. 192.45 and the payments under s. 192.45 (2) (b). The office shall
24credit all moneys received under this subsection to the appropriation account under
25s. 20.155 (2) (h).
AB552,4
1Section 4. 192.45 of the statutes is created to read:
AB552,4,4 2192.45 Emergency prevention and response. (1) Each railroad
3corporation operating in this state shall submit to the department of natural
4resources a prevention and response plan that does all of the following:
AB552,4,55 (a) Describes the measures taken to prevent discharges from occurring.
AB552,4,66 (b) Identifies the individual with authority to implement response actions.
AB552,4,87 (c) Identifies how communication and incident command relationships will be
8established between the individual identified in par. (b) and all of the following:
AB552,4,99 1. Railroad employees who are responding to a discharge.
AB552,4,1010 2. Federal, state, and local officials.
AB552,4,1111 3. Other individuals providing emergency response equipment and personnel.
AB552,4,1312 (d) Describes how the railroad corporation will ensure adequate equipment and
13personnel will be provided if there is a discharge.
AB552,4,1514 (e) Contains copies of contracts, correspondence, and other documents in
15support of the description provided in par. (d).
AB552,4,1716 (f) Describes the actions that will be taken by the individuals identified in par.
17(c) if there is a discharge.
AB552,4,1918 (g) Describes the training and equipment testing that will be provided to
19ensure that the persons identified in par. (c) are prepared to respond to a discharge.
AB552,4,22 20(2) (a) Each railroad corporation operating in this state shall provide training
21to each fire department having jurisdiction along the route upon which the railroad
22corporation's trains operate that addresses all of the following:
AB552,4,2423 1. Response preparedness related to derailments, discharge incidents, and
24spills involving trains carrying oil or other hazardous substances.
AB552,4,2525 2. The general hazards of oil and hazardous substances.
AB552,5,2
13. Techniques to assess hazards to the environment, individuals responding to
2a discharge, and the public.
AB552,5,43 4. Factors a local incident commander must consider in responding to a
4discharge.
AB552,5,75 (b) From the appropriation under s. 20.155 (2) (h), the office shall make
6payments to fire departments to cover the following expenses relating to training
7provided under this subsection:
AB552,5,88 1. Actual training costs.
AB552,5,99 2. Purchase, maintenance, and replacement of gear and equipment.
AB552,5,1010 3. Supplies procured for training or for gear and equipment.
AB552,5,1111 4. Costs associated with emergency planning.
AB552,5,1312 (c) The office shall prioritize the allocation of funds under par. (b) based on the
13following factors:
AB552,5,1414 1. Training needs of fire departments.
AB552,5,1515 2. Risk to the community.
AB552,5,1616 3. Balanced distribution of funds through the state.
AB552,5,19 17(3) Each railroad corporation required to comply with subs. (1) and (2) (a) shall
18complete the requirements of subs. (1) and (2) (a) within one year after the effective
19date of this subsection .... [LRB inserts date], and once every 3 years thereafter.
AB552,5,23 20(4) Each railroad corporation operating in this state shall communicate at least
21once annually with the emergency manager of each county and city and the senior
22fire officer of each fire department having jurisdiction along the route upon which
23the railroad corporation's trains operate to coordinate emergency response activities.
AB552,5,25 24(5) In the event of a discharge, the railroad corporation operating the train that
25discharged material shall do all of the following:
AB552,6,2
1(a) Within one hour of confirmation of a discharge, provide a qualified railroad
2employee to advise the local incident commander.
AB552,6,43 (b) Within 3 hours of confirmation of a discharge, deliver monitoring equipment
4and a trained operator to assist in the protection of responders and the public.
AB552,6,65 (c) Within 3 hours of confirmation of a discharge, deliver qualified personnel
6to assess the discharge and advise the local incident commander.
AB552,6,87 (d) Within 8 hours of confirmation of a discharge, deliver equipment capable
8of containing 10 percent of the discharge.
AB552,6,109 (e) Within 60 hours of confirmation of a discharge, deliver equipment capable
10of containing 100 percent of the discharge.
AB552,6,12 11(6) The office shall plan and coordinate activities necessary to carry out the
12purposes of this section, including rail safety inspection.
AB552,5 13Section 5. 299.67 of the statutes is created to read:
AB552,6,15 14299.67 Safety requirements for railroads. The department shall do all of
15the following:
AB552,6,18 16(1) Assist the office of the commissioner of railroads in providing training on
17the general hazards of oil and hazardous substances, as required under s. 192.45 (2)
18(a).
AB552,6,20 19(2) Assist the office of the commissioner of railroads in conducting emergency
20preparedness drills and training.
AB552,6,22 21(3) Assist railroad corporations in identifying measures to prevent
22environmental pollution.
AB552,6,24 23(4) Conduct inspections and drills as necessary to ensure railroad corporation
24preparedness to prevent environmental pollution.
AB552,7,2
1(5) Review prevention and response plans submitted to the department under
2s. 192.45 (1).
AB552,6 3Section 6. 778.25 (1) (a) 9. of the statutes is created to read:
AB552,7,44 778.25 (1) (a) 9. Under chs. 190 to 192.
AB552,7 5Section 7. Nonstatutory provisions.
AB552,7,96 (1) Rail inspectors. The authorized FTE positions for the office of the
7commissioner of railroads, funded from the appropriation under section 20.155 (2)
8(h) of the statutes, are increased by 4.0 PR positions for the purpose of increasing the
9number of rail safety inspector positions.
AB552,7,1310 (2) Report on response preparedness. No later than January 15, 2017, the
11office of the commissioner of railroads shall submit to the appropriate standing
12committees of the legislature under section 13.172 (3) of the statutes a report that
13includes all of the following:
AB552,7,1514 (a) The emergency preparedness response framework within the state relating
15to incidents involving oil and other hazardous materials transported by rail.
AB552,7,1916 (b) An assessment of the training needs of fire departments and first
17responders to respond to discharges or spills involving oil and other hazardous
18materials transported by rail, including the estimated cost to provide such training
19and benchmarks for assessing training needs in the future.
AB552,7,2320 (c) An inventory of public and private resources for responding to a spill or
21discharge, including response equipment, equipment staging locations, mutual aid
22agreements, and the capacities across industries involved in the transportation and
23storage of oil and other hazardous materials.
AB552,7,2524 (d) Information on the amount assessed under section 189.02 (8) of the statutes
25and an explanation of how that assessment was calculated.
AB552,8,2
1(e) Recommendations for long-range incident preparedness related to oil and
2other hazardous materials.
AB552,8,33 (f) Recommendations for proposed legislative changes.
AB552,8,74 (3) Evaluation of response preparedness funding. No later than November
51, 2017, the office of the commissioner of railroads shall submit to the appropriate
6standing committees of the legislature under section 13.172 (3) of the statutes a
7report that includes all of the following:
AB552,8,98 (a) An update to the initial report of response preparedness that identifies
9significant changes.
AB552,8,1110 (b) An evaluation of the effectiveness of training using the benchmarks
11identified in the initial report of response preparedness.
AB552,8,1312 (c) Identification of current sources of funds, funding levels, and funding needs
13for response preparedness activities.
AB552,8,1714 (d) Analysis of equity in the distribution of funding sources for preparedness
15activities, including an examination of the public-private partnership financing
16model and a review of balance across industries involved in storage and distribution
17of oil and other hazardous materials.
AB552,8,1818 (e) Recommendations for proposed legislative changes.
AB552,8,2219 (4) Report by the department of transportation. No later than November 1,
202017, the secretary of transportation shall submit to the appropriate standing
21committees of the legislature under section 13.172 (3) of the statutes a report that
22includes all of the following:
AB552,8,2423 (a) Information that assists in risk management associated with
24transportation of oil and other hazardous materials by rail.
AB552,8,2525 (b) Criteria for prioritizing needs and improvements of at-grade crossings.
AB552,9,1
1(c) Recommendations for safety improvements.
AB552,9,22 (d) Analysis of state rail inspection activities.
AB552,9,33 (End)
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