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Today's News , 2003
• D & LTLCA meeting set for Atlanta GAO, AAR at Odds on Security  Reprint permission
A Government Accounting Office report released May 23 recommends that the Secretary of Homeland Security work with the Secretary of Transportation to develop a risk-based plan to specifically address rail security, and establish time frames for actions to protect hazardous material rail shipments. The report states that DOT and Homeland Security officials "acknowledged that no plan to specifically address rail security has been developed," but also pointed out that some actions have been taken by the rail industry to enhance the security of hazardous material rail shipments. The Association of American Railroads took issue with some of GAO's findings, responding that the railroad industry "already has in place a comprehensive, risk-based security plan that was developed in close consultation with the Department of Transportation, the Transportation Security Administration, the FBI, National Security Council, the CIA, the Department of Defense, railroad customers, and state and local law enforcement agencies." This rail plan is continuously reevaluated, the AAR stated, and is flexible to allow for quick changes when conditions warrant. "We question the need for development of a redundant plan by government agencies that would cover no new ground and lack this desirable flexibility." But officials from the government and private sector identified several unresolved issues pertaining to the secure movement of hazardous materials by rail, according to GAO. "These include the need for measures to better safeguard hazardous materials temporarily stored in rail cars while awaiting delivery to their ultimate destination and the advisability of requiring companies to notify local communities on the type and quantities of such materials stored or passing through their communities," the report stated.
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