PDFWAC 480-62-310
Accident reports.
(1) A railroad company must make a telephone report to the commission's designee, the Washington state emergency operations center's twenty-four-hour duty officer (duty officer) at 1- 800-258-5990 of any event connected to the operation of the railroad company that results in the:
(a) Release of any hazardous material (i.e., materials that are corrosive, flammable, explosive, reactive with other materials, or toxic);
(b) Death of any person;
(c) Injury to any person involved in a railroad-highway crossing accident that requires medical treatment in addition to first aid; or
(d) Property damage, amounting to fifty thousand dollars or more to property.
(2)(a) Telephone reports of events listed in subsection (1) of this section must be made by the railroad company within thirty minutes of when it learned of the event. The report must provide detailed information of the event to the duty officer. After receiving the telephone report from the railroad company, the duty officer will identify the necessary critical response and remediation resources and agencies on an initial and continuous basis through the completion of the response to the event; and
(b) The duty officer will notify the commission, the affected county or city emergency management office and other appropriate agencies of the event report.
(c) Provisions contained in (a) and (b) of this subsection must be carried out in accordance with the state's twenty-four hour duty officer standard procedures and the Washington Emergency Management Act, chapter 38.52 RCW.
(3) Each event report made under subsection (1) of this section by a railroad company must state, to the extent known, the:
(a) Name of the railroad(s) involved;
(b) Name and position of the reporting individual;
(c) Time and date of the event;
(d) Circumstances of the event;
(e) Number and identity of persons suffering injuries;
(f) Number of fatalities and the identities of the deceased;
(g) The type and amount of hazardous material spilled; and
(h) Other details that will assist in identifying the necessary response, as prompted by the duty officer.
(4) Accidents involving joint railroad company operations must be reported by the railroad company that controls the track and directs the movement of trains where the accident has occurred.
(5) Whenever a railroad company submits an event report to the Federal Railroad Administration, it must submit a copy to the commission at the same time.
(6) Whenever a railroad submits a report to the United States Department of Transportation concerning a hazardous materials incident or accident, it must submit a copy of the report to the commission at the same time.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 80.01.040, 81.04.160, 81.24.010, 81.28.010, 81.28.290, 81.40.110, 81.44.010, 81.44.020, 81.44.101- 81.44.105, and chapters 81.48, 81.53, 81.54, 81.60, and 81.61 RCW. WSR 01-04-026 (Docket No. TR-981102, General Order No. R-477), ยง 480-62-310, filed 1/30/01, effective 3/2/01.]