From: ahk@chinet.com   
      
   Stephen Sprunk  wrote:   
   >On 16-Apr-14 12:50, Adam H. Kerman wrote:   
   >>conklin  wrote:   
      
   >>>I get the hard copy myself.  And the article does state that   
   >>>Federal laws shield the railroads from local supervision and this   
   >>>includes, importantly, decisions on routing of hazadous materials.   
      
   >>The article used a scary word that got you all in a tissy. It's not a   
   >>shield. There's a body of law going back centuries called "negative   
   >>commmerce clause" which prevents states and their subdivisions from   
   >>interfering in interstate commerce.   
      
   >The PATRIOT Act also made a lot of such stuff secret on the theory that   
   >if hazmat routes are publicly known, terrorists might use it.   
      
   >Since containers are clearly marked, though, a terrorist can just hang   
   >out nearby and trigger his bomb when an interesting one comes by.  Oops.   
      
   Before 2006, railroads did not file their potential routings with the   
   feds, unless maybe it was uranium for nuclear power plants. There wasn't   
   a lot of discussion about this.   
      
   You want to tell us what you think local officials should do with information   
   including cargo manifests of trains that haven't derailed, since you're   
   offering your opinions here? That is the subject of discussion, not the   
   several tangents you're trying to drag us down.   
      
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