Board Bill 69 advances after committee review of Chemical Safety Board recommendations on 2017 Ley Lane explosion

Alderman Orion, a member of the St. Louis City Board of Aldermen, told the Public Safety Committee that Board Bill 69 responds to recommendations issued after an April 3, 2017, explosion at the Ley Lane Box factory that killed multiple people.

Orion said the incident involved a boiler that "2,000 pounds, went 500 feet into the air, crashed through the seat, the roof of another building and killed other individuals there," and that the U.S. Chemical Safety Board produced two recommendations to the Board of Aldermen. "We've worked with both the Chemical Safety Board as well as the men and women who have their boots on the ground dealing with these boilers. And everyone is of the opinion that these are common sense regulatory updates," Orion said.

Committee members offered support. Alderman Clark Hubbard asked to be added as a cosponsor and called the changes "life saving work." Alderman Velasquez also asked to be added as a cosponsor and expressed support.

The committee recorded Board Bill 69 as passed out of Public Safety with a due-pass recommendation. The transcript states the motion was moved by "the alderwoman from the tenth" and seconded by "the alderman from the fourteenth," but does not provide names for mover/second in the roll call; no final roll-call tally was provided in the transcript.

The bill is described in the transcript as implementing two recommendations from the Chemical Safety Board; specific ordinance text, code sections, or enforcement mechanisms were not included in the committee discussion recorded in the transcript.