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a) Local public safety personnel are <br />underequipped to respond to a potential <br />derailment of a train carrying hazardous <br />materials such as crude oil or nuclear <br />products. <br />b) The cost -share ratio related to roadway <br />crossing improvements is borne <br />disproportionately by the public sector. <br />Some estimates are 80 percent public to <br />20 percent private funding, regardless of <br />the public entity's ability to pay or <br />whether service is provided within the <br />community. Funding has not kept pace <br />with the growing need for grade <br />separations. <br />c) Legislation brought by the railroad <br />industry that would exempt railroads <br />from stormwater fees and assessments <br />and shift the cost of complying with <br />stormwater management to other <br />property owners. <br />d) The financial burden is faced by the <br />public sector to deal with mitigation <br />improvements, a cost that the Surface <br />Transportation Board (STB) is not <br />requiring the private sector to pay. <br />e) At -grade crossings are blocked by both <br />long moving trains and by trains that <br />stop and remain stopped, sometimes for <br />hours at a time. Blocked crossings delay <br />motorists and sometimes prevent <br />passage of emergency vehicles. <br />f) Difficulty and expense of imposing and <br />enforcing whistleblowing ordinances. <br />Unabated graffiti on railroad cars and <br />structures. <br />h) Pre-emption of local and state authority <br />to regulate railroad activities. <br />g) <br />Response: The League of Minnesota <br />Cities opposes legislation and policies that <br />disproportionately shift authority, costs <br />and/or liability away from railroad <br />companies and onto other entities. The <br />railroad industry, along with state and <br />federal government, must: <br />a) Adequately mitigate the negative <br />impacts of railroads on communities; <br />b) Allow local governments to enforce <br />the existing law regarding the <br />maximum time a crossing may be <br />blocked; <br />c) Allow local governments to enforce <br />whistle -free zones; <br />d) Impose and implement safety <br />standards that are in the best interest <br />of the public, including requiring <br />every train that is carrying freight to <br />be operated with a crew of at least two <br />crewmembers; <br />e) Equip and train local public safety <br />officials to respond to potential <br />catastrophic rail incidents; and <br />f) Develop plans and identify funding <br />sources for more grade separations <br />between railways and roadways. <br />Require railroad companies to <br />provide a direct emergency response <br />telephone number for city first <br />responders (police, fire & ambulance) <br />to call when an at -grade crossing is <br />blocked, and the emergency services <br />need this crossing immediately <br />unblocked to continue their response. <br />g) <br />The public sector should not incur the <br />costs of improvements sought by the <br />private sector, and cities should not be <br />required to fund most of the cost of <br />crossing repairs or improvements. The <br />federal government must exercise greater <br />oversight of the STB to ensure fair and <br />equitable solutions are reached when <br />dealing with cities in Minnesota. Finally, <br />the Minnesota Department of <br />Transportation's (MnDOT's) Office of <br />Freight and Passenger Rail should <br />advocate on behalf of local communities <br />when conflicts between cities and railroad <br />entities arise. <br />League of Minnesota Cities <br />2016 City Policies Page 72 <br />