AUGUSTA — State lawmakers moved quickly to review the safety of Maine’s railroads following the recent disaster in Lac-Megantic, Quebec.

The Maine House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a legislative order offered by Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, that could set the Legislature’s Transportation Committee to work later this summer.

Also, Gov. Paul LePage issued an executive order Tuesday directing the Maine Department of Transportation to review the safety of rail freight transportation in Maine. 

While the state’s Senate failed to advance Berry’s order in the waning hours of the 2013 law-making session, it is likely the committee will be called to work to review the situation and what it means for Maine as facts become available.

The order directs the committee to examine the transportation of hazardous materials, including but not limited to petroleum products. It was prompted in large part by the recent devastation in Quebec.

A runaway train operated by the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway carrying tankers loaded with 50,000 barrels of oil from North Dakota that would have passed through Maine en route to a refinery in New Brunswick is blamed for the destruction of property and the deaths of at least 15 people.

About 45 people remained missing Wednesday as Canadian officials continued to investigate the cause of the mishap that led to a fiery explosion Saturday.

Berry’s order calls on the Legislature to review, and if necessary, propose law changes in 2013 that would help minimize the risk of a similar disaster here. 

The very nature of rail means thousands of Mainers live and work close to the tracks, he said.

“Many of our most populated communities are where the rail lines come through,” Berry said. “Obviously, there are historic reasons for that: That’s where the lines needed to go to deliver both freight and passengers, so the layout really is intended to go through the most populated places.”

MDOT spokesman Ted Talbot said LePage’s response is a direct concern for public safety. Talbot said the order came after the governor met with MDOT officials Monday for an update on the situation in Canada.

“Safety really is the first priority of transportation,” Talbot said.

He said the MDOT would welcome a conversation with the Legislature about what might be learned and whether new legislation would be appropriate in Maine.

Berry said that while some lawmakers “were flat-out opposed to even looking at it” over concern the state can’t regulate interstate commerce, he believes more are interested in learning what they can from the accident in Canada and making sure Maine is as protected against and prepared for a similar incident as it can be.

Berry said state and local governments in Maine would incur the costs of responding to a rail disaster.

Even when the details of the Lac-Megantic accident are known, Berry said, a thorough review of rail safety in Maine makes sense.

“We should not assume that the way that happened is the only thing that could go wrong,” he said. “We need to look at all of our systems because of the unprecedented amount that is now crossing our state and being delivered from the Bakken field and Alberta to the global market. Maine is just a conduit here and we have very little to gain and a heck of a lot to lose.”

The oil is primarily coming from the Bakken shale-oil field in North Dakota, with lesser amounts from neighboring Canada, where oil production has boomed in recent years, and is destined for gasoline and diesel refineries.

Trains carried nearly 5.3 million barrels of the light crude — more than 220 million gallons — across the state and into New Brunswick in 2012, and the volume is growing, according to The Associated Press.

Railroads that operate in Maine have said the increased business has resulted in more jobs and investment in the state. They have also previously said moving oil by train is perfectly safe with upgraded tracks and modern tank cars.

LePage’s executive order addresses several specific issues and requires the MDOT to report back findings as they become available, or within 90 days. The order also asks for recommendations as warranted. That information would also be made available to the Legislature if requested, Talbot said.

He said the state has no authority to regulate interstate commerce by rail, which is the domain of the federal government, but the state does have a great interest in protecting the safety of its citizens and property.

MDOT would review all available safety reports from the Quebec crash, request additional inspections as warranted and a report on the results of the inspection of the track, equipment and operations to reassess the safety of Maine’s rail infrastructure, Talbot said.

Maine Senate President Justin Alfond said Wednesday that the Senate held Berry’s legislative order only because it felt premature to call the Transportation Committee back to work without more details on what transpired at Lac-Megantic.

“That investigation is just starting and daily, the facts are being uncovered, so we just felt it was premature,” Alfond said.

That’s a sentiment shared by the LePage administration, Talbot said. 

Alfond said he and others in the state Senate agreed that the Legislature should use some of the eight days the committee is allowed to meet outside an official lawmaking session to do a careful review of Maine’s railway systems.

Combined with a dramatic increase in the transportation of crude oil by rail through Maine in recent years, a review was certainly in order, Berry said.

He said he was not calling for a moratorium on the transportation of petroleum by rail in Maine but that the increased volume was concerning.

“It is very clear that what happened in Lac-Megantic could have very well happened in Maine,” Berry said. He said Maine has had a relatively good record on rail safety, but the new volumes meant an increased risk.

sthistle@sunjournal.com

More coverage:

• Farmington sets up relief fund for sister city in Quebec
• Railway CEO says employee failed to set train’s brakes in Quebec derailment