Tag Archives: Oil trains

U.S. Rep. Lois Capps: Oil-by-rail is too risky

Repost from the San Luis Obispo Tribune
[Editor:  See also the follow-up story covering the Cal Poly forum on Oct. 16: “Capps touts clean energy alternatives to Phillips 66 project at Cal Poly forum.”  – RS]

Phillip 66’s oil-by-rail plan is too risky

By Rep. Lois Capps, October 13, 2015
Lois Capps in her office in Washington, D.C.
Lois Capps in her office in Washington, D.C.

The Central Coast was thrust into the national spotlight in May as news broke of an oil pipeline rupture that allowed tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil to spill into the Pacific Ocean.

The ensuing damage devastated wildlife and our sensitive coastline, cost our local economy millions of dollars and put the health of Central Coast residents at risk. Sadly, this is just the most recent reminder of the hazards of drilling for and transporting fossil fuels.

In the months since the spill, I’ve redoubled my efforts to ensure federal agencies update and strengthen pipeline safety standards, prevent new offshore drilling and guarantee that our communities are properly compensated for their losses. And yet, just as the final traces of tar are cleaned from the rocks at Refugio Beach, another serious oil hazard looms on the Central Coast.

As many know, Phillips 66 has applied for a permit through San Luis Obispo County to construct a 1.3-mile rail spur to the Nipomo Mesa refinery. Construction of the new spur would allow the refinery to receive up to five deliveries of crude oil per week, with 2 million gallons aboard each mile-long freight train.

This rail spur proposal comes amidst booming North American oil production and a dramatic expansion across the country in the use of railroads to transport crude oil. Not surprisingly, the increased use of rail to transport oil over the last five years has correlated with a sharp increase in the number of derailments by oil-hauling trains. The increase in oil rail derailments is even more troubling considering the large investments made in recent years to improve rail safety.

The most devastating of these recent accidents occurred in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, when a 74-car freight train carrying crude oil derailed in a downtown area and several cars exploded, killing 47 people and leveling half of the downtown area with a blast zone radius of more than half a mile.

Approving the Phillips 66 rail spur project would put communities throughout California at risk for a similar tragedy. If approved, communities within 1 mile of the rails would be within the potential blast radius of these crude oil freight trains as they make their way to their final destination in San Luis Obispo County. This is one of the many reasons why I am joining other community leaders, cities and counties throughout the state in opposing this project.

The Plains oil spill near Santa Barbara in May and the Phillips 66 rail spur project debate are both stark reminders of the dangers posed by our continued reliance upon oil and other fossil fuels to meet our energy needs.

We know that this dependence puts our environment, public health and economy at risk due to spills, derailments and the growing impacts of climate change.

With each extreme storm, severe wildfire and persistent drought, we’re reminded of the very real consequences of our continued dependence on fossil fuels.

The truth is that an economy that continues to rely upon fossil fuels is not prepared to succeed in the 21st century.

That is why I have spent my career in Congress advocating for efforts to transition to clean, renewable energy sources that produce the energy we need while also minimizing the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change.

I am proud to say that the Central Coast is leading this transition. With our cuttingedge research universities, two of the largest solar fields in the world and some of the most innovative entrepreneurs and energy companies in the country, I am excited to see what the future holds.

Now, more than ever, we are presented with a wonderful opportunity to pivot away from our reliance on dirty fossil fuels and toward a more sustainable energy future.

That is why I am convening a panel of industry leaders and academic experts for a public forum at Cal Poly’s Performing Arts Center on Friday to discuss how we can continue to expand our clean-energy economy on the Central Coast and across the country.

During the forum, I look forward to discussing the multitude of threats posed by our continued fossil fuel dependence, the progress made toward developing renewable energy sources, and how we can overcome the remaining barriers to fully transition to a cleanenergy future. Please join us this Friday at 1 p.m. as we come together to build a safer, cleaner energy economy suitable to meet the demands of the 21st century.

 

2015 Stop Oil Trains Week of Action Roundup

Repost from ForestEthics
[Editor:  Nice summary here.  Lots more photos and details at ForestEthics.org and on Facebook and Flicker.  ALSO, see excellent coverage onTar Sands Solutions Network: 100 Actions, 5,000 people: Biggest oil trains protest in history.  – RS]

2015 Stop Oil Trains Week of Action Roundup

'Lions Park, Mount Vernon.  July 9, 2015. (Photo/Wendelin Dunlap) Images provided by Alex Ramel'
Lions Park, Mount Vernon. July 9, 2015. (Photo/Wendelin Dunlap) Images provided by Alex Ramel — at Lions Park.

The 2015 Stop Oil Trains week of action marked the second anniversary of the fatal Lac-Mégantic, Quebec oil train disaster. This year 5,000 citizens gathered in 100 cities and towns across the US and Canada to demand a ban on these dirty, exploding trains.

To see ALL pictures from the week of action check out our Flickr Group – http://bit.ly/Flickr_StopOilTrain

Phillips 66 Santa Maria Refiney project protest. San Luis Obispo, CA. July 11, 2015. Keynote speakers: San Luis Obispo Mayor Jan Marx; Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal (Photo/Andrew Christie) — in San Luis Obispo, California.

Highlights

ForestEthics's photo.
In Ventura, California.

Highlights from the week of action are too numerous to count. National press coverage included pieces in MSNBCDemocracy NowEcoWatch, The Hill, AP, & VICE – alongside dozens upon dozens of local print, TV, and radio pieces.

In Lac-Mégantic, the week started with a beautiful, bold, and somber march that drew hundreds of people to the tracks. The week continued with a banner hang and guerrilla projection actions in California, powerful infrastructure blockades in New York and Oregon, creative rallies in Albany, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Richmond (VA), Minneapolis, and DC – just to name a few. Then this weekend, action picked up with a jazz funeral procession in Philadelphia and a die-in in Seattle. On Saturday, thousands attended coordinated protests across California – including rallies that drew hundreds each in San Luis Obispo, Richmond, Los Angeles and San Jose – to call on decision makers across the state to reject new oil train infrastructure proposals and shut down existing operations. There are countless more to name, and every action had an impact, from gatherings of 5 to 500. No matter where or how you participated, you were a part of something extraordinary.

'Oil Train Die In.  As the gates to Safeco Field opened for the Mariners vs. Angels game, thousands of fans streamed past a rally held near Century Link Field in protest of oil trains that pass the stadiums on a daily basis. Seattle City Council Member Kshama Sawant spoke at the rally and joined the demonstration as they marched from Century Link to Safeco in a silent procession holding photos and names of the 47 people who died in Lac-Mégantic Quebec during an oil train explosion in 2013. Safeco Field and Century Link Field both sit within 200 yards of a rail line that sees several trains pulling the same Baaken Crude that exploded in Lac-Mégantic. The same rails carry Baaken laden trains through a tunnel that sit directly beneath downtown Seattle, including the King County Administration Building, Benaroya Hall, and Pike Place Market, not to mention several hotels and businesses and the thousands of people downtown at any given moment. Write Up on The Dignity Virus thedignityvirus.com/2015/07/11/activists-stage-die-in-in-... (Photo/Jeff Snyder) Images provided by Carlo Voli.'
OIL TRAIN DIE IN – As the gates to Safeco Field opened for the Mariners vs. Angels game, thousands of fans streamed past a rally held near Century Link Field in protest of oil trains that pass the stadiums on a daily basis. Seattle City Council Member Kshama Sawant spoke at the rally and joined the demonstration as they marched from Century Link to Safeco in a silent procession holding photos and names of the 47 people who died in Lac-Mégantic Quebec during an oil train explosion in 2013…. Safeco Field and Century Link Field both sit within 200 yards of a rail line that sees several trains pulling the same Baaken Crude that exploded in Lac-Mégantic. The same rails carry Baaken laden trains through a tunnel that sit directly beneath downtown Seattle, including the King County Administration Building, Benaroya Hall, and Pike Place Market, not to mention several hotels and businesses and the thousands of people downtown at any given moment. Write Up on The Dignity Virus thedignityvirus.com/2015/07/11/activists-stage-die-in-in-… (Photo/Jeff Snyder) Images provided by Carlo Voli.’

Ca-ching: Oil-by-rail surge to benefit three commercial sectors

Repost from Benzinga
[Editor: Quick & dirty on the 3 sectors: Freight Car Designers And Refitters, Insurance Providers, and Emergency Services And Safety Training.  UNLESS … if we stop crude by rail in its tracks, the only CA-CHING will be in the alternative energy fields.  – RS] 

3 Sectors Expected To Benefit From The Oil-By-Rail Surge

Bruce Kennedy, Benzinga Staff Writer, August 11, 2014

It’s been just over a year since a freight train carrying crude oil from the Bakken shale fields in North Dakota derailed and exploded in a Quebec town near the U.S.-Canadian border, killing 47 people.

That accident, along with several others in its wake, drew attention to the enormous increase in shale oil now being transported from North Dakota and Canada by rail – and the vulnerabilities of that form of transport.

“More crude oil is being shipped by rail than ever before, with much of it being transported out of North Dakota’s Bakken Shale Formation,” Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Fox pointed out in a press conference last month. “In 2008, producers shipped 9,500 rail-carloads of oil in the U.S.; by just last year, that number skyrocketed to 415,000 rail-carloads — a jump of more than 4,300 percent.”

At that same press conference, Fox announced a rule-making proposal to improve the safe transportation of large quantities of flammable materials by rail – crude oil and ethanol in particular.

The increase in oil being transported by rail, as well as the new safety measures, might also be a windfall for companies in some related fields.

Freight Car Designers And Refitters

The proposed new safety rules for oil freight cars means a potential bonanza for firms like The Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX). The Oregon-based group is a leading manufacturer and marketer of railroad freight car equipment in both North America and Europe.

Along with retro-fitting existing oil rail cars, Greenbrier is also designing a new genreration “Tank Car of the Future,”  with a thicker tank and bigger welds to ensure greater safety.

The new design, according to the Rigzone oil and gas industry web site, is “intended to meet anticipated new industry and government standards for tank cars transporting certain hazardous material.”

Insurance Providers

The Wall Street Journal reports that most, big North American railroads usually carry about $1.5 billion in liability insurance – but notes that accidents like last year’s deadly derailment and explosion in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, can end up costing billions of dollars more in cost, especially if that accident happens in a populated area.

“Even if it happens outside of town, the massive damage to property and the environment — you’re stymied when you have these kind of crude oil fires burning hot and big for days,” Karen Darch, president of Barrington, Illinois, told the newspaper.

This could lead to an increase in the need for insurance.

“With experts predicting that oil spill derailments may increase in frequency over the next decade, the insurance industry must be prepared to address this new coverage threat,” says the law industry tracker web site Law360 earlier this year, “including the coverage issues and potential exposure which may arise from these disasters.”

Emergency Services And Safety Training

Earlier this year, Minnesota’s state legislature passed an oil transport law. The measure, reportedly worth more than $6 million, took fees generated in part from oil and railroad companies and put that funding towards tanker and pipeline disaster training, as well as more state transportation safety inspectors.

As former National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Deborah Hersman pointed out in a letter written this past January to the head of the Federal Railroad Administration, there is no mandate for the railroads to come up with comprehensive disaster response plans for oil train derailments

This means the rail carriers “have effectively placed the burden of remediating the environmental consequences of an accident on local communities along their routes,” the letter said.

According to the Association of American Railroads, the industry is providing $5 million to develop and fund specialized training for first responders handling a crude-by-rail accident, as well as developing “an inventory of emergency response resources and equipment for responding to the release of large amounts of crude oil along routes over which trains with 20 or more cars of crude oil operate.”