Bad News for AG if Positive Train Control is Met at Years End; EPA Blamed for Spill for Mine

The deadline is fast approaching for implementation of Positive Train Control safety systems and some say the economy will start to feel the effects next month. The Association of American Railroads says while the deadline nears at the end of this year, it will not be met. That’s bad news for agriculture as rail cars used for shipping inputs like fertilizer and grain could be pulled off the tracks starting sometime next month. A House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee bill calls to extend the deadline to the end of 2018. Despite the calls for an extension, the White House plans to enforce the current PTC deadline.

A federal investigation released Thursday blamed the Environmental Protection Agency for the three million gallon wastewater spill from a Colorado gold mine, saying an EPA cleanup crew rushed its work. The federal investigation says the EPA team could have avoided the spill if they checked on water levels inside the Gold King Mine before digging into its entrance. The accident fouled rivers in Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, temporarily shutting down drinking water supplies and cropland irrigation.