Environmental hearings to appear on docket at Philadelphia City Council

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Philadelphia City Council plans to hold hearings on plans to protect the city from environmental threats from derailment of an oil train.

Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown is calling for the hearings, saying she wants to make sure precautions are in place to limit risks as trains transport oil through Philadelphia.

On Feb. 16, a train carrying oil derailed in West Virginia, causing an explosion and massive fire.

“If there’s ever an accident, it would be a bad thing, so we need to be proactive and figure out what type of prevention measures [are] in place to avoid an accident,” said Reynolds Brown. “We don’t want to be in an ‘I wish, I shoulda, coulda’ place.”

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In January, an oil trained derailed in South Philadelphia. And in 2014, another derailment had tanker cars hanging over the Schuylkill River.

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