Judge Gets Rail-Security Documents in D.C. Hazmat Case

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ttorneys for the federal government delivered rail-security documents to a federal judge Thursday related to the District of Columbia's plan to ban hazardous rail shipments near the U.S. Capitol.

The papers were delivered a day after U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan demanded to see security plans detailing how Washington, D.C., would be protected in the case of from a terrorist attack involving hazardous rail cargo, an aide to the judge told Transport Topics.

Sullivan had harsh words for government officials and in court Wednesday said he found it “offensive” that the government might not let him see the security plans, the Washington Post reported Thursday.

In April, Sullivan had refused to issue an order that would have stopped the city’s ban on hazardous cargo movement from taking effect, agreeing with city officials that a potential terrorist attack on a rail car of chlorine, for example, could kill many people near the Capitol building, which is close to the rail line.

A federal appeals court sided with the U.S. government and CSX in opposing the ban, and returned the case to Sullivan, with CSX asking for a final disposition in the case, the Post said.

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