Senate passes revised set of oil train safety rules

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Senate has passed a bill to establish a new set of safety regulations for oil trains that travel through Washington.

In a 28-21 vote Wednesday, the Senate passed a revised version of House Bill 1449, which passed the House in March. Amendments to the bill make it very similar to the Senate's version of an oil train bill that passed the House in a modified form Tuesday night.

The bill passed Wenesday by the Senate taxes oil moved by rail or tanker at 5 cents a barrel to fund spill cleanup efforts, and requires tug escorts and other water transport safety measures only for oil shipped via Grays Harbor. An amendment to extend those requirements to Puget Sound oil shipments failed.

The competing versions of the oil shipment safety bills are expected to move next to a conference committee, which will work out the differences.