2016/06/29 Council Agenda Packet

After listening to more than an hour of public testimony about the health, safety and environmental risks of oil and coal trains traveling along the waterfront, the Edmonds City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve resolutions urging federal officials to ban transporting crude oil and coal by rail through Edmonds. The votes were taken in front of dozens of red-shirted demonstrators who had earlier marched from the waterfront up Main Street for a rally outside the Council Chambers. Speaking to the crowd, Edmonds City Councilmember Adrienne Fraley-Monillas — who had led the effort to get the resolutions on the council agenda — said her hope was that cities neighboring Edmonds would also pass the same resolutions. "And we'll just keep going up and down Puget Sound, getting one city after another to say 'No. We've had enough.'" The Raging Grannies even sang a song, as did 15-year-old Seattle high school student Ali Piper. Also speaking was Brian Schleicher, a firefighter/paramedic based out of downtown Edmonds Fire Station 17 for 13 years, who noted he would be a first responder if any oil or coal train mishaps were to occur. "We as the professional firefighters of Snohomish County have some real concerns with running eight oil trains per day at 30,000 gallons per tanker through our little city," said Schleicher, speaking on behalf of Firefighters Local 1828. "Especially when they haven't upgraded them all to the newer safety standards, they aren't currently held to what we would consider to be a significant speed limit and it creates a real problem. "Response is a weak effort when one of these things comes off the tracks," he continued. "We can plan, we can drill, we can prepare all that we want, and if something like this happens we are going to do the very best we can to limit damage but that damage occurs in the first few minutes. Lives are lost, businesses are destroyed, the environment is damaged and countless other horrible things occur." Many of those participating in the rally also offered testimony during the council meeting, including more than a dozen Edmonds residents plus some coming from Shoreline, Seattle and Everett.