Probe Planned on Railroad’s Actions After Toxic Spill : Environment: Rep. Barbara Boxer says reliable sources have alleged that SP tried to move the tank car immediately, creating greater ecological damage.

Rep. Barbara Boxer (D-Greenbrae) announced plans Thursday to hold a congressional committee hearing on allegations that Southern Pacific employees attempted to move a pesticide-laden tank car immediately after it plunged into the Sacramento River near Dunsmuir last month, significantly increasing the environmental damage caused by the catastrophic derailment.

Meanwhile, the California Public Utilities Commission voted Thursday to begin a formal investigation into Southern Pacific’s equipment, facilities and operating practices in connection with both the Dunsmuir derailment and a second last month that spilled dangerous toxins at Seacliff in Ventura County. The PUC probe will seek to determine specific causes for the accidents and recommend improvements in state and federal regulations to prevent future derailments.

Boxer, in a phone interview, said reliable sources have told investigators for the government activities and transportation subcommittee, which she chairs, that the rail carrier tried to “move the tank car (from the Sacramento River) rather than wait for appropriate state emergency teams to arrive.

“I have the same reliable sources telling me that it is not uncommon for Southern Pacific to attempt to clean up accident sites without notifying appropriate agencies,” she said. “The reason is to just move forward, downplay the problem, clear the track and move on.”

Boxer, a U.S. Senate candidate, refused to disclose the identity of her sources, describing them as “whistle blowers” who could suffer repercussions if named publicly.

A Southern Pacific spokesman quickly denied the allegations.

“Nobody touched that tank car for the first several hours,” said railroad spokesman Mike Furtney. “I don’t know what she is talking about.”

In earlier state and federal hearings into the July 14 spill, no efforts were made to delve into the time sequence of the cleanup effort. “This is the first I’ve heard of it,” said Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Symlar), who convened a state hearing earlier this month.

Bev Passerello, spokeswoman for the state Office of Emergency Services (OES), said Thursday that no evidence that Southern Pacific employees tried to move the car has been confirmed. “When you get an accident like this,” she said, “all sorts of allegations fly.”

OES officials have testified in past hearings that they were contacted about the pesticide spill more than an hour after the derailment, which occurred at 9:45 on a Sunday evening. Early reports, state officials said, were that only a few hundred gallons of meta-sodium were released into the river. OES emergency staffers did not arrive on the scene until midday Monday, hours after Southern Pacific officials say they flew their own hazardous waste team to the site.

Almost 20,000 gallons of the toxic pesticide leaked, poisoning 45 miles of the Sacramento River, threatening the state’s drinking water supply and unleashing vapors that scientists believe could harm pregnant women.

Boxer said the Sept. 12 Washington hearing will be an effort to get at the truth. She said her sources already have proven “very, very credible” in informing investigators that a June safety inspection of Southern Pacific equipment was halted after a company official complained that a previous inspection had hurt the carrier financially.

During a July 31 hearing, Edward R. English, chief of safety for the Federal Railroad Administration, told Boxer’s subcommittee that he was unaware of such a decision. But weeks later, an FRA subordinate told Katz’s committee that he had conferred with English before calling off the inspection.