Tag Archives: Crude by Rail

Bakken Crude, Federal Regulation (U.S.), Oil train contents, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Public Safety, Rail accidents, Rail tank cars, Tank car design, Tank car identification, U.S. Department of Transportation

Two studies: Bakken crude by rail – safety and volatility

[Editor: The following studies were recommended to me by a neighbor who supports Valero’s crude by rail proposal.  Both are loaded with valuable information, useful to anyone who wants facts to back up an argument for or against Valero’s project.  You can download the document by clicking on the green text.   Thanks, neighbor!  – RS] 

Center for Strategic and International Studies –
Safety of Crude Oil by Rail

By David Pumphrey, Lisa Hyland, and Michelle Melton, March, 2014

Summary

In the last several years, rail has come to play an important role in the transportation of growing U.S. crude oil production. Over the last seven months, a number of serious accidents have resulted in intense review of the safety of shipping large quantities of oil by rail. The focus has been on classification of the oil, the integrity of tank cars, and rail operations. Regulatory processes have been initiated to attempt to deal with these issues in a timely manner. This issue analysis provides facts that illuminate the players, concerns, current status of regulatory action, as well as the potential issues going forward.

Further regulation of crude by rail is a near certainty, but the ultimate scope and pace remains unclear. Whether regulatory action actually slows down what has become a burgeoning transportation option for crude oil producers and refiners is an open question. It is increasingly unlikely that regulatory action—unless truly drastic—will stop shipment of crude by rail. However, moving forward, regulatory action such as phasing out older tank cars, rerouting trains, or imposing stringent requirements for testing, could impact the economics of crude by rail.   [MORE – a 9-page report in PDF format]

Congressional Research Service –
CRS Report – Crude Oil Properties Relevant to Rail Transport Safety

by Anthony Andrews, Specialist in Energy Policy, February 18, 2014

Summary

The dramatic increase in U.S. crude oil production, coupled with the increase in crude oil transport by rail, has raised questions about whether properties (e.g., flammability) of these crude types—particularly Bakken crude oil from North Dakota—differ sufficiently from other crude oils to warrant any additional handling considerations. The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a Safety Alert to notify emergency responders, shippers, carriers, and the public that recent derailments and resulting fires indicate that the type of crude oil transported from the Bakken region of North Dakota may be more flammable than traditional heavy crude oil. The alert reminds emergency responders that light sweet crude oil, such as that coming from the Bakken region, pose significant fire risk if released from the package (tank car) in an accident. PHMSA has expanded the scope of lab testing to include other factors that affect proper characterization and classification of crude oil such as volatility, corrosivity, hydrogen sulfide content and composition/concentration of the entrained gases in the material.

All crude oils are flammable, to a varying degree. Further, crude oils exhibit other potentially hazardous characteristics as well. The growing perception is that light volatile crude oil, like Bakken crude, is a root cause for catastrophic incidents and thus may be too hazardous to ship by rail. However, equally hazardous and flammable liquids from other sources are routinely transported by rail, tanker truck, barge, and pipeline, though not without accident.

A key question for Congress is whether the characteristics of Bakken crude oil make it particularly hazardous to ship by rail, or are there other causes of transport incidents, such as poor maintenance practices, inadequate safety standards, or human error.  [MORE – a 13-page report in PDF format]

 

Bakken Crude, Benicia Planning Commission, Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community, Draft EIR, Public Comment, Tar sands crude, Valero Crude By Rail

KPFA: Benicians oppose crude-by-rail ‘bomb trains’

Repost from AnnGarrison.com

Benicians win first victory in opposition to crude-by-rail ‘bomb trains’

KPFA Weekend News, 07.12.2014

On Thursday, Citizens of Benicia, California won a 45-day extension of the public comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Report regarding Valero’s plan for bringing tar sands and shale oil to its Benicia Refinery. Activists opposing the shipments began calling them “bomb trains” after explosions around the U.S. and in Canada.

Transcript: 
KPFA Evening News Anchor Cameron Jones:This week the Benicia Planning Commission voted, 4 to 2, for the 45 day public comment period extenion on Valero Oil’s crude by oil The town of Lac Mégantic, Quebec, Canada, burned for four days after a crude-by-rail train derailment and explosion. Forty-seven people died and some of their bodies were never even found. plan. KPFA’s Ann Garrison spoke to Andrés Soto, KPFA host, Benicia resident, and organizer with Communities for a Better Environment. 

KPFA/Ann Garrison: Andrés Soto, could you tell us what happened at the Benicia Planning Commission meeting on Thursday evening? 

Andrés Soto: Yeah, two things occurred. One was that the local group Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community held a rally that was designed to commemorate the 47 people who lost their lives at Lac Mégantic a year ago. It was part of a national campaign along with Forest Ethics, as well as a rally before going into the meeting. 

KPFA: Regarding Lac Mégantic, that’s the community in Quebec where 47 people died after a crude by rail car blew up?
Soto: Crude by rail train.
KPFA: Train.Soto: A crude-by-trail train derailed, and a number of cars exploded, and the town burned for four days, and 47 people were essentially incinerated. Some of their bodies were never found.

KPFA: OK, what happened when you got into the Planning Commission meeting, in Benicia.Soto: Once in the meeting, the Planning Commission had to deal with a couple of ideas. One was whether or not to extend the public comment period from the 45 days it is now to 90 days, and that occurred on a 4 to 2 vote, so the public was allowed to have a longer public comment period.

Before the Benicia Planning Commission meeting on July 10, Benicia residents commemorated the 47 lives just over a year ago, when a crude-by-rail train derailed and cars carrying Bakken shale oil exploded in Lac Mégantic, Quebec. And the other action was, they started to take comment from the public on the Draft Environmental Impact Report on Valero’s crude-by-rail project. They only were able to listen to about five or six people by the time they got around to that at 11:30 pm, so the meeting is going to be continued, and the public will be allowed to give more testimony at their next meeting in August. The crowd was overwhelmingly anti crude-by-rail. The Valero forces were able to turn out a few folks, mostly from the building trades unions, but the bulk of the people who were there were opposed to it. There was also an opportunity for people who live uprail, in Roseville and Davis and Vacaville and places like that. They allowed those folks to actually offer their commentary first, before the Benicia residents, because they had come from such a long way.

So we think we’re in a good place right now and looking forward to the next meeting.

KPFA: If you’re opposing crude by rail, then you’re basically opposing the transport of shale oil and tar sands oil from the middle of the country, right?

Soto: Correct. Valero and Union Pacific have teamed up to begin to try to deliver Bakken crude and tar sands crude, Bakken crude from North Dakota, and tar sands crude from Alberta, Canada by rail down here since there is no Keystone pipeline to the West Coast. And in the city of Benicia, Valero wants to shift from getting all of its oil delivered by ships, at their port, and converting to getting it all by rail. And we believe this puts the CIty of Benicia and the surrounding communities and the Suisun Marsh at an unnecessary risk. And our position is that they ought to leave that stuff in the ground, that just because they can get it out doesn’t mean we want it. What we support is a just transition from a fossil fuel based economy to one based on the expansion of renewable energies.

KPFA: And that was Andrés Soto, Benicia resident and organizer with Communities for a Better Environment. In Berkeley, for Pacifica, KPFA Radio, I’m Ann Garrison.

Bakken Crude, Derailment, Explosion, Lac-Mégantic

Remembrance: A year ago, Lac-Mégantic, Quebec

Repost from The Martinez News-Gazette

A year ago: Lac-Mégantic, Quebec

By Guy Cooper | July 13, 2014

I can’t help thinking of them, the 47 lives suddenly snuffed a year ago, July 6, by a runaway oil train that incinerated that downtown and fostered a firestorm of outrage, fear and controversy across this continent about the haste, greed and disregard that deliver oil trains threatening our communities with death and disaster.

I knew none of them, but feel a kinship for another small, quaint, historic railroad town of antique brick buildings clustered by train tracks aside a waterfront park, alive on a warm summer night with music, laughter and camaraderie amongst good friends.

The Musi-Cafe was the place to gather in Lac-Mégantic on such a night, not unlike what you would encounter at Armando’s, the Sunflower, Barrel Aged, Roxx’s and other gathering places on a pleasant summer evening in Martinez. By 1 a.m. you might imagine the patrons were quite animated with libations and good cheer. Then things went horribly wrong.

(The following account is drawn, sometimes verbatim, from an article published Nov. 28, 2013, by Justin Giovannetti in the Toronto Globe and Mail, entitled “Last moments of Lac-Mégantic: Survivors share their stories.” His portrayal is heart-wrenching. I urge you to read it. I attempt to provide a sense of the tragedy from that account.)

Yvon Ricard and Guy Bolduc, great friends and popular musicians at the Musi-Cafe, had just finished a set about 1:10 a.m. July 6. Yvon went out onto the terrace for a smoke while Guy chatted with people at the bar. Outside, Yvon’s conversation with waitress Maude Verreault was suddenly interrupted by an insistent clanging at the rail crossing.

Luc Dion and Julie Heon also sat on the terrace, quietly staring into each other’s eyes, their beers untouched. A chance meeting that night brought the couple together in person, after having chatted online for weeks. Julie’s friend, Karine, left them alone with a wink and returned inside to the bar. At 1:14 a.m., these star-crossed lovers noticed a blur at the edge of their vision, heard a strong wind and felt the ground shake. They leapt to their feet, instinctively knowing what was coming.

Bar owner Yannick Gagne attempted to leave earlier to pick up his kids from the babysitter and go home, his pregnant wife staying behind at the bar to help out till about 1 a.m. It wasn’t easy to leave. The place was packed, about 80 patrons inside and another 40 on the terrace. Several group celebrations were going on, birthdays and such. Friends at the bar tried to tempt Yannick to stay and down shooters with them. They teased. He didn’t get out of there till 12:30.

Karine Blanchette also waitressed there, but this night left early and didn’t get back till about 1 a.m. She was tired and couldn’t find a parking spot, so drove on home after enthusiastically waving and yelling greetings to those on the terrace.

Estel Blanchet, recently back from her last year of high school, exchanged goodbyes with her mom, Natachat Gaudreau, and headed home. Her mom went on to the Musi-Cafe with a friend to catch the live music she loved. Lying in bed later, daughter Estel thought nothing of the sound of sirens outside on the street. By 1 a.m. her mother sat alone in the bar by the stage.

Rene Simard, a local art teacher, along with a young friend Melissa Roy, arrived that evening to meet many other friends, parking his brand new Mini Cooper right out front. Late that night, Rene made it out to the terrace for a smoke after multiple detours to chat with old friends and former students. There, he was joined by his friend Frederic Fortin. It was only a moment later they felt something like an earthquake and saw the train speed by.

Christian Lafontaine and his brother Gaetan were both there with their wives and many friends. By 1 a.m. they were by the bar getting set to leave. As Christian waited to pay the bill, Gaetan’s wife headed to the bathroom. Suddenly, there were two earthquake-like shocks, the second much more violent than the first. Christian and his wife looked at each other with alarm and hastened towards the front door, while an apprehensive Gaetan took off looking for his wife. The bar suddenly went pitch black then lit up a blinding orange.

One tanker car after another derailed, momentum piling up a tortured metal edifice three stories high containing over 1.8 million gallons of crude oil. A panicked crowd desperately tried to flee or find shelter. Out the front door in seconds, Christian and his wife raced away from the street-wide wall of fire coming towards them. Yvon Ricard, initially shocked into immobility at the sight of an immense mushroom cloud, was jolted by the heat of burning oil to frantically run with four others towards the lake until they no longer felt the searing heat on their backs. Rene Simard stumbled disoriented as he ran from the terrace of the Musi-Cafe. His friend Frederic pulled him to his feet, and as they ran for the Mini Cooper, it exploded. It was parked on the side of the building away from the tracks. When he saw what happened to his car there, he knew those still inside the bar behind him were dead. They continued running.

Luc and Julie jumped off the terrace and ran between houses towards the lake. They became separated. She ran towards her home across what would soon become a charred landscape. By the time Luc reached the lake the park was burning, flaming oil was spilling into the water, and a look back towards the town revealed four blocks of the downtown on fire. Waves of flames washed over the Musi-Cafe.

Yannick’s wife made it home just before the train derailment. Then, in response to a frantic call, Yannick tried to make it back to the bar, but the way was blocked. He broke down and cried like a baby. The goodbye earlier that evening was the last time Estel saw her mother alive. Christian’s wife lost her best friend. The bodies of Christian’s brother, Gaetan, and his wife Joanie were found together at the back of the bar. The coroner told families of the victims that most asphyxiated as the fire quickly consumed all the oxygen. Rene Simard, distraught by the loss of so many friends, did not return to teaching. Luc and Julie both survived and are still together as of five months following the disaster. The musician Yvon returned safely that night to his terrified wife and two daughters, but with no news of his friend and music partner to offer Guy’s wife and two teenagers. Guy perished.

All told, 47 lives were lost, 27 children orphaned, the heart and soul of the town destroyed.

Crude By Rail, Emergency Readiness & Response, Lac-Mégantic, Valero Benicia Refinery

NPR: First Responders Unprepared For Another Train Disaster

Repost from National Public Radio
[Editor: I remember with horror the breaking news last July of the catastrophic derailment and explosion in Lac-Mégantic.  Here in Benicia, we were preparing for a public forum to help residents understand the environmental impacts associated with our Valero Refinery’s bid to begin shipping crude oil by rail.  Lac-Mégantic was a shock, and a wake-up call.  Ever since that day, our concerns have expanded – crude by rail brings environmental disaster, and piles on catastrophic risk for everyone along the rails from the Midwestern provinces and states to the refinery.  – RS]

First Responders Unprepared For Another Train Disaster

By David Schaper, July 6, 2014

One year after an oil train derailed and exploded in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, some firemen and first responders say they still don’t have the training or manpower to handle a similar disaster.

Transcript

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

Ever since that Canadian train derailment, first responders all across North America wonder, what if it happens here? And as NPR’s David Schaper reports from this side of the border, many say they don’t have the training, the equipment or the manpower necessary to respond to an oil train disaster in their cities and towns.

DAVID SCHAPER, BYLINE: The images of that fiery blast that incinerated much of Lac-Mégantic’s downtown last summer still haunt many first responders.

GREGG CLEVELAND: It’s one of those things that certainly keeps me up at night.

SCHAPER: La Crosse, Wisconsin, fire chief Gregg Cleveland is watching one of the dozens of freight trains that rumble through the heart of the city of about 52,000 people every day. Many of the trains are hauling crude oil, some stretching more than a mile long, tank car after tank car full of volatile Bakken crude.

CLEVELAND: I think anytime that you have the railroad with the amount of hazardous materials in Bakken crude oil, the question is not if, but when.

SCHAPER: La Crosse is a long and narrow city nestled between the Mississippi River to the west and towering sandstone bluffs to the east, which presents unique challenges. An oil train could derail in the river or in a large environmentally sensitive marshland or in bluff-side neighborhoods that would be cut off from the only escape route over the tracks. Gregg Cleveland says, his professional firefighting force has a hazmat response team, but…

CLEVELAND: We really need more people trained in response to railroad incidents. We have virtually no foam, and the equipment that we have cannot apply the large volumes of foam that we would need in a railroad emergency.

SCHAPER: Furthermore, La Crosse has the only hazmat response team in west central Wisconsin. So along hundreds of miles of railroad track, the fire chief says, it could be up to small-town volunteer departments to initially try to contain an oil train spill and fire.

CLEVELAND: They’re not going to have the resources to do that. I think that’s a pretty safe assumption.

SENATOR HEIDI HEITKAMP: If we are going to do this right, we need to have a nationwide evaluation of the readiness.

SCHAPER: That’s Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. Her state is producing most of the oil that is shipped by rail, and the amount has increased more than 6,000 percent over the last five years. She’s sponsoring a bill that would identify best practices for first responder training and equipment.

HEITKAMP: And then we need to figure out how do we get the resources to the local firefighters, how we get the training to the local firefighters and how do we institutionalize this because crude oil is not going to go off the trains anytime in the future.

SCHAPER: Heitkamp is also pushing for extra funding for first responder training, which the railroad industry is also stepping up to provide.

HEITKAMP: And it’s our goal with the training that those first responders have as realistic an experience as possible.

SCHAPER: Lisa Stabler is president of the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado, which is part of the American Association of Railroads. Under an agreement with the federal Department of Transportation, the center is providing enhanced crude by rail disaster training for firefighters from around the country, free of charge. Stabler says the program will include hands-on training with real derailed tank cars going up in flames.

LISA STABLER: And that allows them to learn and, if necessary, to make mistakes in a very safe environment so that they don’t mistake make mistakes when they’re out trying to take care of an incident with the public.

SCHAPER: Back in La Crosse, Wisconsin, fire chief Greg Cleveland applauds the increased training efforts. But he wonders why this didn’t happen sooner, given that dozens of trains carrying explosive crude already roll through his city every week.

CLEVELAND: Quite honestly, we’re playing catch up very quickly here.

SCHAPER: And Cleveland notes that costly training and equipment needs will be with his community, just like the oil trains, for quite some time to come.

David Schaper, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.