Benicia League of Women Voters to host oil train forum, 9/17

Repost from the Benicia Herald
[Editor:  See also calendar of events on LWVBenicia.org.  – RS]

LWV to host oil train forum

By Nick Sestanovich, September 4, 2015

As they have for most issues du jour in Benicia, the local chapter of the League of Women Voters will open the floor this month on the subject currently foremost on residents’ minds.

These days, that can only mean one subject: Valero’s proposed Crude-by-Rail Project.

The controversial project will be the subject of a LWV informational forum on Sept. 17.

In 2012, Valero applied for a permit to have crude oil delivered by rail car into its refinery. The move prompted an outcry from some residents over potential environmental and safety concerns.

The matter is currently before the city Planning Commission. Public input is being accepted until Oct. 15 on the latest environmental review of the project.

The goal of the forum, LWV Treasurer Judy Potter said, is to provide clarity in a nonpartisan way on a crucial, complicated topic.

“We’re not planning to present a pro-and-con argument on the crude-by-rail issue,” Potter said. “We’ll just be providing general information on what it is, where we are and what the planning process is.”

She said the forum will feature an overview by featured speaker Leslie Stewart, an energy and air quality reporter for the LWV Bay Area Monitor. Planning, policies and regulation related to the transportation of petroleum and other hazardous materials, particularly as it relates to Benicia, will also be discussed.

“People have lots of questions about how this project, if approved, will impact our community and surrounding communities,” Potter said. “It’s an issue that’s fraught with strong opinions from both sides, so it’s important for the community to get as much information as possible.”

The Sept. 17 forum will be from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Southampton Swim Club, 10 Chelsea Hills Drive. It is free and open to the public.

Told to fix leaky oil train cars in 2 months, owners sought 3 years

Repost from McClatchyDC
[Editor:  Significant quote: “This year is already the second worst for oil spilled from trains since the federal government began collecting data 40 years ago….trains spilled about 1 million gallons in 2013 alone, vs. 800,000 in all the prior years combined….More than 600,000 gallons of oil has spilled from trains so far this year….”  – RS]

Told to fix leaky oil train cars in 2 months, owners sought 3 years

By Curtis Tate and Samantha Wohlfeil, September 2, 2015 

HIGHLIGHTS
• Washington state spills led to March order from federal agency
• Industry group asked for three-year extension
• Regulators gave owners until end of 2015

The wreckage of an oil train derailment in Mount Carbon, W.Va., still smolders 48 hours after the crash, on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015.

WASHINGTON  |  Railroad tank cars equipped with defective valves still will be allowed to transport crude oil and other hazardous materials through the end of the year, despite a March directive from federal regulators requiring their replacement within 60 days.

The Federal Railroad Administration order followed a Bellingham (Wash.) Herald story about a leaking oil train reported in Washington state in January. The Railway Supply Institute, trade group representing tank-car owners, wrote the agency in April asking for a three-year extension to replace the faulty valves on tank cars that carry hazardous materials.

About 6,000 tank cars were affected by the recall, issued on March 13. On May 12, the day of the original deadline, regulators wrote back to the trade group that the agency found no basis to give tank car owners until 2018 to comply, but nonetheless gave them until Dec. 31, an extension of more than six months.

Officials from the Railway Supply Institute couldn’t be reached to comment.

60   Number of days tank car owners had to comply
with March directive.

The federal order came about a month after crews discovered tank cars leaking from their top fittings while hauling crude oil through Washington state.

In mid-January, a 100-car train loaded with Bakken crude had 16 leaking cars removed at four different stops between northern Idaho and the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, Wash.

As the train traveled west along the Columbia River, leaking cars were pulled as they were discovered; at each stop, the entire train was inspected before continuing on to the next location.

BNSF Railway, the train’s operator, said a total of 26 gallons of oil from 14 of the leaking cars was found only on the tops and sides of the cars, and no oil was found on the ground, in a report to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Separately, the Federal Railroad Administration fined the owner of a North Dakota oil loading terminal $10,000 for a spill from a tank car that was discovered in November in Washington state. When the car arrived at a refinery for unloading, inspectors found it coated in oil and measured about 1,600 gallons missing.

State officials first learned of the spill a month after it happened, and no local officials were notified. In March, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission recommended $700,000 in fines against BNSF for failure to report 14 hazardous materials spills within the 30 minutes required by state law.

BNSF has disputed the state regulator’s findings. A hearing is scheduled for January.

Six major oil train derailments this year across North America have demonstrated the continued risks of large volumes of crude oil moving by rail.

Four of those derailments occurred in just four weeks in February and March: two in Ontario, one in West Virginia and another in Illinois. All involved large spills, fires and explosions, but no serious injuries.

Two less serious oil train derailments have occurred since, in North Dakota in May and Montana in July.

600,000   Number of gallons of oil spilled from trains
so far this year.

The rail industry and its regulators have been under pressure from lawmakers and the public to fix tank car vulnerabilities and take more steps to prevent derailments from happening.

The U.S. Department of Transportation issued its final rule on tank car standards for trains carrying oil, ethanol and other flammable liquids on May 1.

The new rule requires a tougher design for the tank cars, including thicker shells, more puncture resistance and thermal insulation to protect against prolonged exposure to fire.

It also requires existing tank cars be retrofitted to meet the new standards, depending on the level of hazard, within two to 10 years. Industry groups have challenged the new rule in court, saying it doesn’t give them enough time to complete the retrofit. Environmental groups have sued as well, saying it gives the industry too much time.

This year is already the second worst for oil spilled from trains since the federal government began collecting data 40 years ago.  A McClatchy analysis of the data last year found that trains spilled about 1 million gallons in 2013 alone, vs. 800,000 in all the prior years combined.

More than 600,000 gallons of oil has spilled from trains so far this year, according to a new analysis of data from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Wohlfeil writes for the Bellingham Herald and reported from Bellingham, Wash.

Public comment period on Valero Crude-by-Rail RDEIR extended by one day

Repost from the Vallejo Times-Herald

Public comment period on Benicia’s revised Crude-by-Rail report extended

By Times-Herald staff report, 09/01/15, 5:46 PM PDT

Benicia >> The city announced Tuesday afternoon that the public comment period for the revised report on the Valero’s proposed Crude-by-Rail project has been extended by a day.

“Due to the delay in the distribution of the Notice of Availability for the Revised Draft EIR (environment impact report) via mail,” the period has been extended to 5 p.m. on Oct. 16, according to the announcement.

The report was redistributed to the public Monday after comments from the public when the draft was first released in June, 2014.

The proposed project, would allow Valero Benicia Refinery to transport crude oil through Benicia via two 50-tanker car trains, rather than shipping the crude oil by boat. It will not replace the crude that is transported by pipeline.

The revised portions of the report are subject to a 45-day public comment period.

The Planning Commission will hold a formal public hearing to receive comments on the revised report on Sept. 29.

In anticipation of the number of speakers, additional Planning Commission meetings to receive comments are scheduled for Sept. 30, Oct. 1, and Oct. 8.

These additional meetings will only be held as necessary to hear public comment. All meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, Benicia City Hall, at 250 East L St.

No action on the projects will be taken at these meetings, staff said.

Comments may be provided at the public hearing, or may be submitted in writing, no later than the new deadline.

Written comments should be submitted to amillion@ci.benicia.ca.us or Principal Planner Amy Million at the Community Development Department 250 East L St.

The report can be reviewed at the Benicia Public Library, 150 East L St.; the Community Development Department, 250 East L St.; or here.

BENICIA HERALD LETTER: Thanks for opposing views of Valero Crude-by-Rail Project

Repost from the Benicia Herald
[Editor:  No link is provided for this letter because the Benicia Herald does not publish Letters in its online edition. – RS]

Thanks for opposing views of Valero Crude-by-Rail Project

By Georgia Taylor Benedict, September 1, 2015, Benicia Herald

Thank you for two thought-provoking columns in the Sunday, Aug. 30 (“Benicia: Not exactly a smart, green city,” by Grant Cooke and “Crude by rail can be solution to Benicia’s budget woes,” by Dan Broadwater).  Mr. Cooke and Mr. Broadwater presented opposing view of the Valero Crude-by-Rail Project.  What was obvious was that Mr. Cooke’s analysis was far more inclusive than that of Mr. Broadwater.

The most obvious point Mr. Broadwater (writing in favor of crude by rail) failed to address was the inherent and demonstrated danger to communities, waterways, wildlife and natural habitats caused for transporting highly volatile Bakken crude over thousands of miles.  Trains derail, leak, and spill fuel and highly toxic crude oil with what appears to be alarming frequency.

The risk to the city of Benicia of a deadly explosion or highly polluted air if this project is approved is not a matter of if but when.  To support this project because it may create 20 long-term jobs is laughable.

I sincerely hope that our elected city officials will deny Valero’s proposal after due consideration.  To fail to do so could be catastrophic for our lovely town.