Quiet zone bill gets roughed up by committee

Columbia Falls city manager Susan Nicosia expressed surprise at the Feb. 2 city council meeting about the harsh treatment a railroad quiet zone bill received in Helena.

The city had asked Rep. Zac Perry, D-Hungry Horse, to sponsor a bill to help Montana’s city and towns pay toward construction of quiet zones.

There are two at-grade railroad crossings in Columbia Falls. The city of Whitefish was able to convert two of its three at-grade railroad crossings and dramatically reduce the amount of noise from locomotive horns.

Coal-severance tax revenue in the state’s Treasure State Endowment Program fund was already available to cities and towns for quiet zones on Montana’s southern rail line, where the number of coal trains heading to the West Coast has increased in recent years.

But with the oil boom in the Bakken region of North Dakota, the number of oil trains on Montana’s northern rail line has significantly increased. At the same time, new federal regulations brought in louder locomotive horns.

The two-page long House Bill 216 calls for expanding the definition of the TSEP fund by adding railroad quiet zones to the list of infrastructure that can be assisted by the fund.

“TSEP money is meant to be used for safety,” Nicosia told the city council.

The bill was heard by the Montana House State Administrative Committee on Jan. 27. When asked why no fiscal note was included, Perry said the affected cities and towns were not asking for money — they were just seeking the opportunity to apply for grants.

The committee tabled the bill on Jan. 30.

Nicosia said she was taken aback by the committee’s strong opposition to the bill. She noted that the 20-member committee includes Rep. Frank Garner, R-Kalispell, the former Kalispell police chief.

“Even the Montana Association of Counties testified against the bill,” she said.

Nicosia said Perry did a “great job on our behalf” despite the rough treatment. She said she made a note of the committee’s concerns and will see if she can address them before the bill is killed.

“We need to get it untabled,” she said.

A member of the city council suggested recording the loud blare of a locomotive horn from one of the numerous trains that pass through Columbia Falls in the early morning hours, and then playing it back during the next House State Administrative Committee meeting.