Monthly Archives: July 2014

Crude By Rail, Rail Safety, Spill prevention and response, State regulation

New Minnesota safety rules – prevention and response, but nothing about stopping crude by rail

Repost from The Perham Focus, Perham, MN

New rail safety rules now in effect in Minnesota

Focus staff report, 7/1/14

Laws designed to improve the safety of Minnesotans who live and work near railways that carry crude oil and other hazardous materials go into effect July 1.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Department of Public Safety and the railroads will carry out the new rail safety legislation, which was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Mark Dayton in May. The new laws follow accidents involving crude oil in neighboring states and provinces and will implement stricter oversight of railroad companies, require more railway inspections and provide for better emergency response training and preparedness in communities across Minnesota.

“Trains carrying crude oil pass through our communities every day. We have learned from dangerous accidents in other states that without proper safety measures, that cargo could pose a very real risk to our citizens,” said Gov. Dayton in a press release from the state transportation department. “For the enhanced safety of all Minnesotans, I am confident that our departments of transportation and public safety will implement these new programs effectively, and strictly enforce all new regulations taking effect today in Minnesota.”

“These new safety measures go a long way towards making the state safer as the trains carrying crude oil pass through the state,” said MnDOT Commissioner Charlie Zelle. “The addition of more rail inspectors will allow us to inspect more tracks and equipment and keep them operating safely.”

“We welcome the opportunity to educate first responders on the unique challenges presented by the volume of crude oil making its way through Minnesota,” said Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mona Dohman. “We will also bring together community leaders, railroad and pipeline operators, and emergency planners to ensure all communities are prepared to respond to an incident involving crude oil.”

HOW THE NEW LAW WORKS

Minnesota is seeing an increase of trains carrying petroleum products from the North Dakota oil fields. In response, the legislation includes several key features designed to strengthen safety requirements and improve disaster response readiness in the state, according to the release:

Prevention Plans Required – Requires railroad companies to submit disaster prevention plans to the state of Minnesota. This new law will require companies transporting hazardous materials to develop safety measures that help keep Minnesotans and the environment safe.

Increased Safety Inspections – Increases the number of railway inspectors at the Minnesota Department of Transportation, paid for with an annual assessment on railroad companies.

Emergency Response Training – Requires railroads to provide emergency response training every three years to every fire department located along oil train routes. This training will help ensure Minnesota firefighters are prepared to respond to a disaster. This law also requires the Department of Public Safety to continue to provide training and response preparedness to emergency responders. This is paid for through an assessment on railroads and pipelines.

Planning Emergency Responses – Requires railroads to file emergency response plans with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and to update these plans. 

Improving Response Capacity – Requires railroads to deploy enough equipment to clean up within a specified time period any spills or leaks that may occur. This means that those who cause accidents or disasters will be held responsible for cleaning them up.

 

Spill prevention and response, State regulation

Tacoma Editorial: Washington should impose per-barrel fees like California

Repost from The News Tribune, Tacoma, Washington

Paying to protect ourselves from North Dakota crude

EDITORIAL, The News Tribune, July 1, 2014
Tank cars loaded with crude oil head east at Hurricane, West Virginia, on May 11. Oil trains have become an increasingly common sight traveling through South Sound communities – and their numbers are projected to continue growing. CURTIS TATE — MCT

There’s good news about the explosive oil tankers rolling through our communities: We can finally find out what the bad news is.

Until Tuesday, the public knew only that the state had suddenly become a magnet for thousands of antique tanker cars, each filled with 680 barrels of volatile crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken region.

We’ve all seen them: huge black tanks topped with what look like black caps. Their design is a half-century old. The National Transportation Safety Board has been yelling for years about their tendency to split open and explode in crashes.

Federal regulators finally took the risk seriously after one oil train — more or less identical to countless others — exploded in Quebec last year and incinerated 47 human beings.

The new gusher of North Dakota crude has sent a storm surge of tankers across the continent. The rail industry and some states haven’t been eager to tell the public where the trains are going and how many there are.

One particularly specious claim is the information might fall into the hands of terrorists — as if any terrorist with time on his hands couldn’t simply stand by the track in a given locale and count.

The U.S. government last month declared that the train movements aren’t state secrets. Washington state’s emergency preparedness people last week released the details. In Pierce County, for example, BNSF Railway is currently moving 11 to 16 major oil trains through University Place, Tacoma and other communities.

The typical train pulls about 100 cars. Trains that pull fewer than 35 or so aren’t reported. Keep in mind: Shipments are still curving up. In 2011, zero crude was sent to Washington refineries by rail. In 2013, that zero had grown to 29 million barrels.

It’s crucial that the public have this information. Without it, we couldn’t assess either the threat or the preventive measures.

BNSF appears to be trying to get ahead of the problem. (As common carriers, railways are legally obligated to carry oil trains.) It is upgrading its tracks aggressively and is funding training for the state’s first responders.

Railway companies don’t normally deploy cars of their own, but BNSF is buying a small fleet of modern, much-safer oil tankers. Credit where it’s due.

Washington is reacting to the surge faster than the federal government did. This year’s Legislature appropriated nearly $1 million to develop response plans. State agencies are on task.

Unfortunately, lawmakers failed to take one obvious step: imposing a per-barrel fee on rail-borne oil, as California does and as this state already does with the seaborne crude that arrives at our refineries. As a result, taxpayers are footing the bill for much of the emergency preparation.

Heaven knows how many oil barons and CEOs are enriching themselves by rolling these potential bombs through our cities. It’s galling that we have to pay to protect ourselves from them.

Bakken Crude, Derailment, Massive increase in crude-by-rail

Texas Public Radio: Derailments Spike Along With Oil Shipments

Repost from Texas Public Radio
[Editor: This seems to be an early posting on Texas Public Radio, with actual interview audio to follow.  I will return to add the audio when it is posted.  – RS]

The Source: Derailments Spike Along With Oil Shipments

By Paul Flahive, July 1, 2014
Link to original image: http://bit.ly/1lvK3ci Credit Flickr user Paul Sullivan / cc

Transporting crude oil from areas booming with the hydraulic fracturing revolution relies heavily on railroads. Busier railroads means more derailments and more derailments with trains loaded with old cars filled with oil means more tragedies.

Chris Hart, acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, noted the dramatic rise in flammables being transported by rail the in a letter to U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley while noting a number of specific oil derailments:

  • March 27, 2013, derailment of a Canadian Pacific train involving 14 tank cars of Western Canadian crude oil in Parkers Prairie, Minnesota, that released 15,000 gallons of product.
  • January 31, 2014, 11 tank cars of a Canadian National (CN) train transporting North Alberta crude oil in New Augusta, Mississippi, derailed, releasing 50,000 gallons of product.
  • February 13, 2014, 19 tank 2 cars of a Norfolk Southern train carrying Western Canadian heavy crude oil derailed in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, releasing 4,300 gallons of product.
  • January 7, 2014, 5 tank cars of a CN train carrying Western Canadian (Manitoba/Saskatchewan) crude oil derailed in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick, releasing 60,000 gallons of product.

As we enter July, the property damage by oil on rail derailments has already surpassed all of last year and these derailments have affected every region of the country according to a Politico investigation.

As these trains travel through our communities, sometimes without the knowledge of first responders, are we safe? Should we have more information and the ability to keep these trains outside densely populated areas? Are there alternatives, and how does the Keystone XL pipeline figure in?

Guests:

  • Kathryne Wolfe, Politico’s deputy transportation editor
  • Tom “Smitty” Smith, Texas director of Public Citizen, a consumer and citizen advocacy group

*This is the second segment in the July 1 edition of The Source, which airs at 3 p.m. on KSTX 89.1 FM.  Audio from this segment will be posted by 5:30 p.m.

California Regulation, DEIR, Valero Crude By Rail

Video coverage of BSHC Workshop on Valero DEIR

See video below from Constance Beutel on YouTube

Benicia Videographer Constance Beutel covers Workshop sponsored by Benicians For a Safe & Healthy Community

On Saturday, June 28, Benicians For a Safe and Healthy Community (BSHC) offered a free public workshop on “How to Read and Comment on Valero’s Draft EIR.”

The event, attended by over 60, was primarily an objective study of general information on Environmental Impact Reports, legal requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and an explanation of how ordinary citizens are encouraged to participate in reviewing and commenting on these lengthy documents.

While event planners sought to present an impartial forum as an educational experience, there were plenty of questions and comments from participants that took issue with Valero’s proposal.

After the presentations, breakout groups worked on issues of concern to participants.

Local videographer Constance Beutel covered three of the speakers on her YouTube page.  See the video below, and check out Constance’s many other videos here: http://youtu.be/9Prey7fckk8.