Can Governor Jay Inslee make President Obama do something about this?
Can Governor Jay Inslee make the Obama administration do something about this? Columbia Riverkeeper

I'm currently sitting in a soundproof room near the Convention Center with a handful of other journalists waiting to hear President Barack Obama stump for Jay Inslee's reelection campaign.* Outside, former Seattle mayor Mike McGinn and a group of oil train protesters are passing out "#StandWithMosier" and "Ban Oil Trains Now!" stickers.

Good timing for them: Earlier today, Governor Inslee met with federal railroad officials over the very issue and asked Union Pacific to ban oil train traffic until better regulations are implemented. Today, Inslee's office released a press statement saying that the governor is asking for stronger oil train regulations than the rules the US Department of Transportation rolled out last year.

Hi, Mike.
Hi, Mike! SB

As we covered in 2015, many concerned about the trains' public safety and environmental consequences say that USDOT's delayed regulations fall far short of what's required to protect cities and towns from exploding train cars. But cities and states don't have the ability to control oil shipments. Only the federal government can regulate the railroads, and the railroads say that the safety information cities like Seattle are asking for is proprietary.

Earlier this month, a crude oil train headed to Tacoma derailed in Mosier, Oregon, and went up in flames. Union Pacific started running trains again (next to the burnt and derailed cars) in Mosier just two days after the accident. According to the announcement today, Inslee has asked Union Pacific to stop oil train transport in Washington until they change their track inspection protocol.

“Action at the federal level is imperative," Inslee said in a statement. "Slower train speeds, faster phase-out of older tank cars and electronic braking systems are real actions that can prevent potentially devastating accidents."

Here's more:

I made clear to Feinberg that federal regulators need to act on these things immediately. We’ve asked UP to halt their trains until they implement needed inspection protocols. A moratorium should be placed on any oil trains in Washington using track that is not inspected to these rigorous standards. I will continue pressing federal regulators and the railroads for swift action.

Doesn't sound too promising, given the amount of time it took USDOT to come up with the regulations in the first place. US Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) has said that the political will to change the rules might only happen after an oil train catastrophe in an urban area.

Anyway, I'll be tweeting the president's remarks from the Convention Center event. Find me @sydbrownstone to follow along.

*We have limited access to the bathroom and this room is the color of toenail fungus, but it does have free WiFi.

American journalism, 2016.
I hope they don't Red Wedding us. SB

This post has been updated.