ENVIRONMENT
PUC Fines Railroad for Dunsmuir, Seacliff Spills: Southern Pacific must pay $492,000 for violations of the state’s hazardous material reporting rules. The California Public Utilities Commission also set new train make-up and safety regulations for Cantara Curve near Dunsmuir, where the 1991 derailment occurred. In that accident, 14,000 gallons of herbicide went into the Sacramento River, killing all plant and animal life for 45 miles downstream. Also in 1991, the railroad spilled toxic aqueous hydrazine underneath a U.S. 101 overpass at Seacliff, closing the highway for five days, in part because the train crew had no records as to how much hazardous material was in the car.
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