State Judge Orders Disclosure of Maryland Oil Train Data

A Maryland state judge this month ordered a state agency to give news media routing information about oil trains within Maryland — adding momentum to efforts to warn firefighters and communities about dangers they face. Some other states have followed federal orders to share such information, even as railroads and some other states resist.

Judge Lawrence Fletcher-Hill of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City ordered Maryland's Department of the Environment to give oil train routing information to news organizations and others seeking it.

McClatchy Newspapers and the Associated Press had sought the information under Maryland's open records law. After the state decided to grant that request, two railroads, CSX and Norfolk Southern, had gone to court trying to prevent the state environmental agency from releasing it. Judge Fletcher-Hill refused, saying the railroads had failed to make a case that disclosure would harm their business or security interests.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in a May 2014 emergency order had required railroads to give oil-train routing information to states. McClatchy had submitted requests for the information under open records laws in 30 states beginning in June 2014. Some states supplied the information. Judge Fletcher-Hill also rejected the railroads' arguments that a subsequent final rule by the FRA invalidated the requirement that they report oil-train routing to states.

• "Maryland Judge Orders Release of Oil Train Reports," McClatchy Washington Bureau, August 17, 2015, by Curtis Tate.
• "Freight Lines Can't Hide Info About Crude Transport — Judge," Greenwire, August 17, 2015, by Sean Reilly (subscription).
• "Wolf’s Rail Expert Releases Crude-By-Rail Safety Report," PublicSource, Aug. 17, 2015, by Natasha Khan.
• Previous Story: WatchDog of July 29, 2015.