Baltimore city council drops hazmat shipping ban hearing from schedule

Baltimore city council drops hazmat shipping ban hearing from schedule    The Baltimore City Council has dropped a hearing scheduled this week about a proposed ban against transporting hazardous materials by rail through the city, the Baltimore Sun reported Monday.
   Councilman Kenneth N. Harris Sr. introduced the measure in February. It comes four years after a CSX train transporting hazardous chemicals derailed and started a fire in the Howard Street Tunnel under the city.
   According to the Sun, Councilman Edward L. Reisinger, chairman of the council’s Land Use and Transportation Committee, said the delay was needed to include the city’s Planning Department.
   “It’s not being postponed because of industry. It’s being delayed because of the process,” Reisinger told the Sun. “This has nothing to do with businesses.”
   The Baltimore City proposal has been closely watched by railroad CSX Transportation, which sued the District of Columbia over a similar ban earlier this year. The U.S. Court of Appeals rejected Washington’s ban in May as unconstitutional.
   For more background, read the March American Shipper, pages 90-96.