Denver City Council shuts down railroad safety measure

Denver's City Council struck down a proposed freight train safety ordinance Monday night.

CBS News has been following this issue closely after the massive train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio back in February.

A CBS News Colorado investigation found that the risk of "catastrophic" rail accidents in Colorado is "highly likely," according to a city engineering study.

RELATED: "Catastrophic" hazmat incident in Denver is "highly likely," new study shows

Denver City Councilwoman Debbie Ortega has worked on this issue for more than 10 years and calls it a serious public safety issue.

"I'm worried about an incident happening in our city that could wipe out some of the infrastructure, especially in the Platte Valley, that took 30 years to build," Ortega said. "You have one of these petroleum tank cars that catch fire, and it's like  a firecracker effect; one will impact the other because they burn so hot, it literally take the face off of a building and the contents inside."

Ortega asked for a public hearing on the ordinance but the council refused by a vote of 5-7.

Ortega, along with Councilmembers Candi CdeBaca, Kevin Flynn, Paul Kashmann and Robin Kniech voted in favor of a public hearing on the measure, while Stacie Gilmore, Kendra Black, Jolon Clark, Chris Herndon, Chris Hinds, Amanda Sandoval and Jamie Torres voted against it.

If passed, the new ordinance would have created more safety requirements for new building permits near train tracks.

Almost 20,000 homes and apartments are currently within 100 feet of Denver railroads.