Rail Carriers File Complaint Against City Over Propane Plans

Two rail carriers are asking a federal judge to find them exempt from state and local regulations regarding their proposal to unload propane.

Boston and Maine Corp. and Springfield Terminal Railway Co., subsidiaries of Pan Am Railways, filed a complaint on Wednesday in federal court in Concord against the city of Portsmouth and City Manager John Bohenko.

They want to transfer propane from rail cars to trucks on property in Portsmouth. They say a transfer facility is needed because the city is opposed to a proposed expansion at Sea-3, a propane distributor in Newington. Propane would be shipped through Portsmouth.

Portsmouth city attorney Bob Sullivan tells WMUR-TV the city will do whatever it can within the bounds of the law to protect people from the hazardous aspects of trans-loading activity. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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