Category Archives: Crude By Rail

Bakken Crude, Crude By Rail, Hazardous cargo transparency, Hazmat notification, Rail routing, Tank car identification

Citizen oil-train spotters challenge railroad secrecy

Repost from The Herald, Everett, Washington
[Editor: Interesting project.  For more detail, see Green News for Snohomish County.  – RS]

Citizen oil-train spotters challenge railroad secrecy

By Jerry Cornfield, June 12, 2014
A placard with the number 1267 indicates that a tank car along West Marine View Drive in Everett carries crude oil.
A placard with the number 1267 indicates that a tank car along West Marine View Drive in Everett carries crude oil. Mark Mulligan / The Herald

OLYMPIA — BNSF Railway doesn’t want civilians to know how often it transports large shipments of Bakken crude oil through Snohomish County, but a mathematician from Everett can give you a pretty good estimate.

Dean Smith, 71, a retired researcher for a federal agency, isn’t on the “need-to-know” list, but he’s got a darn good idea of the frequency and routes of oil trains.

He organized the Snohomish County Train Watch, and he and 29 volunteers monitored train traffic in Edmonds, Everett and Marysville for a week in April. Crude-oil tank cars can be identified by their red, diamond-shaped hazardous-material placards that bear the number 1267.

They tried to keep track around the clock but missed a few shifts. Even so, they counted 16 shipments of oil and 20 of coal, Smith said. They also tallied another 96 trains, including those of Amtrak, the Sounder commuter run between Seattle and Everett and other freight during the period.

Smith presented the results at a meeting Monday and posted them online. He’ll share them with U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., in a meeting Friday.

“What motivated me was noticing the oil trains. I saw them and thought, ‘What’s going on?’” he said.

Three railroads in the state insist what’s going on should be released only to emergency responders and not the general public. State officials disagree and consider the reports to be public records but aren’t releasing them yet.

BNSF and the two other railroads have complied with a federal order and given the state government an idea of the volume, frequency and routes along which they move the highly flammable North Dakota crude in Washington.

But the BNSF, Tacoma Rail and the Portland and Western Railroad have until the end of next of week to obtain a court order preventing disclosure. If they don’t, the state will hand over records to those requesting them, including The Herald.

“We continue and will continue to work with the railroads to address their concerns and still meet the requirements of the state’s Public Records Act,” said Karina Shagren, spokeswoman for the state Emergency Management Division.

The shipment of crude oil by rail has greatly increased in recent years, and notable serious accidents in the U.S. and Canada, including a deadly crash in Quebec, have drawn attention to tank-car safety. Such incidents prompted the federal rule requiring railroads to disclose information about shipments.

The state Department of Ecology estimates Bakken crude shipments by rail in Washington rose from zero barrels in 2011 to nearly 17 million barrels in 2013.

Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday said he wants state agencies to move more swiftly to assess the risks to public safety posed by the increasing number of oil trains traveling through Washington.

Inslee directed the Department of Ecology to analyze the risk of accidents along rail lines, compare the danger of Bakken crude to other types of crude and identify any gaps in the state’s ability to prevent and respond to oil spills from rail tank cars.

These issues are already getting a look as part of a $300,000 study of oil transportation approved by state lawmakers earlier this year. Work on that report will begin this month, and findings due to Inslee and lawmakers in December.

Inslee’s directive seeks some recommendations by Oct. 1, when he will be in the midst of drafting his next state budget proposal.

“It speeds up certain parts of that analysis,” said Inslee spokeswoman Jaime Smith. “There is a lot of increased scrutiny on oil shipments. The public is demanding some answers. The sooner we get the information, the sooner we can act.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation in May ordered railroads carrying more than 1 million gallons of Bakken crude in a single train – about 35 tank cars – to tell state authorities how many such shipments they expect to move through each county each week and on what routes. They were not required to provide the days and times of the shipments.

BNSF Railway, the dominant carrier north of Seattle and to points east, averages one-and-a-half to two trains loaded with Bakken going to “facilities in the Pacific Northwest in a 24-hour period,” according to company spokesman Gus Melonas.

He wouldn’t reveal how much oil those trains carry to refineries in Anacortes and Ferndale or which routes they travel.

“BNSF believes this type of shipment data is considered security-sensitive and confidential, intended for people who have ‘a need to know’ for such information, such as first responders and emergency planners,” Melonas told The Herald in an email.

Lyn Gross, director of the Emergency Services Coordinating Agency in Snohomish County, is one of those with a need to know and has received the information.

She declined to share details but said what she read didn’t incite her to consider revising the group’s handling of hazardous-material incidents. Her agency handles emergency management for 10 cities in south Snohomish County.

“It doesn’t really change much for us. It gives us more of an awareness of how much of this product is moving through our area that we didn’t know about before,” said Gross, who forwarded copies of the data to the member cities. “We’re going to respond like we would for any hazardous materials incident involving a train.”

Regular citizen Smith wants to repeat the train-watching exercise every two to three months to keep city, county and state leaders informed. He said he hopes that will spur a critical examination of the need for changes in emergency response plans.

Snohomish County residents are not the only ones tracking trains. The Vancouver Action Network is keeping watch and spreading data and photos through online sites and social media. Oil train activists are planning a statewide summit in Olympia in August.

Train monitoring is on the rise because rail transport of all types of crude oil, including Bakken, is multiplying in Washington. Until the federal order took effect last week, railroads did not need to tell anyone about the amount of Bakken they were taking to refineries in Whatcom and Pierce counties.

Tacoma Rail estimated that each week it runs three unit trains of 90 to 120 railroad tank cars apiece, according to a copy of the report obtained by The Herald. Those trains are traveling on tracks in and around the Tacoma Rail train yard in Pierce County.

Union Pacific, which doesn’t have a large presence in Western Washington, told the state it has nothing to report.

That doesn’t mean the Union Pacific isn’t shipping Bakken crude to locations in Washington — only that it isn’t handling quantities large enough to be subject to disclosure, Shagren said.

Crude By Rail, Derailment, Emergency Readiness & Response, Hazardous cargo transparency, Hazmat notification

Governor’s Oil by Rail Report Highlights Need for Sustainable Funding and Close Coordination to Protect Public Safety

Repost from California Department of Fish & Wildlife
[Editor: This is a major, highly significant report from the Governor’s Rail Safety Working Group.   The recommendations aren’t nearly as strong as needed, but they’re a step in the right direction.  Download the Governor’s Report, OIL BY RAIL SAFETY IN CALIFORNIA.  See the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services announcement.  See also coverage in Reuters, SFGate, Huffington Post.   – RS]

Oil by Rail Report Highlights Need for Sustainable Funding and Close Coordination to Protect Public Safety

June 10, 2014 by Janice Mackey

Large Increase in Oil by Rail Points to Need for Long-Term Solutions

In an effort to prepare state and local emergency responders for the dramatic increase in shipments of oil by railroad in California communities, the state Interagency Working Group on Oil by Rail Safety today released a report outlining its recommendations to improve public safety during the transport of oil by rail in California.

“Keeping California’s residents and environment safe from oil spills from rail deliveries, pipelines, or marine shipments is a top public safety priority,” said Mark Ghilarducci, Director of the California Office of Emergency Services. “Implementing these recommendations will bolster a growing array of prevention, response and regulatory efforts.”

State energy officials estimate that crude oil imports by rail will increase from 1 percent of total California oil imports in 2013 to 25 percent of imports by 2016. Most of the increase is due to a sharp rise of imports from Canada and North Dakota in the Bakken shale formation.

In response, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. included proposals in his budget to prepare the state for the influx of oil by rail, including increasing safety inspections of railways by the Public Utilities Commission and establishing an inland oil spill preparedness and response program.

“Californians recognize that moving oil can be a dangerous business,” said California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Charlton H. Bonham. “Enhancing the programs we have in place will give Californians the confidence they need to know that any movement of oil in this state will be done in the safest manner possible.”

The report details 12 main recommendations:

  • Increase the number of California Public Utilities Commission rail inspectors;
  • Improve emergency preparedness and response programs;
  • Request improved identifiers on tank placards for first responders;
  • Request railroads to provide real-time shipment information to emergency responders;
  • Request railroads provide more information to affected communities;
  • Develop and post interactive oil by rail map;
  • Request the federal Department of Transportation to expedite phase-out of older, riskier tank cars;
  • Accelerate implementation of new accident prevention technology;
  • Update California Public Utilities Commission incident reporting requirements;
  • Request railroads provide California with broader accident data;
  • Ensure compliance with industry voluntary agreement;
  • Ensure state agencies have adequate data.

Several state agencies engage in prevention, planning, emergency response, and cleanup activities applicable to oil by rail, including the Office of Emergency Services (OES), the Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM), California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), and the Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR). Local agencies, including the local Certified Unified Program Agencies (CUPAs), also play critical roles in emergency preparedness and response, and have expressed growing concern about increased oil by rail transport.

In addition to administration’s budget proposal, state officials are updating California’s emergency response programs, including the CalEPA Emergency Response Management Committee revising the Hazardous Material and Oil Spill annex of the State Emergency Plan and OES reviewing and updating the six Regional Plans for Hazardous Materials Emergency Response.

The report is the product of an intensive 6 month effort by multiple state agencies, including the California Public Utilities Commission; California Office of Emergency Services; California Environmental Protection Agency; Department of Toxic Substances Control; California Energy Commission; California Natural Resources Agency; California Office of the State Fire Marshal; Department of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources; and Office of Spill Prevention and Response.

View the report: http://bit.ly/OBR-pdf
Visit the web page: http://bit.ly/OBR-page

Bakken Crude, Crude By Rail, Insurance Industry, Oil Industry, Rail industry, Tar sands crude

Railroads & oil industry must insure against costs of clean-up after catastrophic accidents

Repost from The Times Union, Albany, NY

Editorial: A cost of rail oil profits

Thursday, June 5, 2014

First, 47 people were killed and a town flattened last summer when a crude oil-filled freight train exploded in Lac-Megantic, Quebec. Then, as residents mourned the death and destruction, the railroad at fault declared bankruptcy, leaving the Canadian government holding a nearly $3 billion bill.

The Canadian tragedy has helped fuel a national cry on this side of the border for greater scrutiny of what has become a boom in crude oil rail transport. Capital Region residents need look no farther than the continual ring of tanker cars around downtown Albany for reason to worry that a disaster could happen here, and to wonder: If it does, who will be held responsible?

As we wait for the White House’s release of new federal rules regarding the railroads themselves, state Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy, an Albany Democrat, has proposed that terminal operators also be required to have some responsibility in controlling this surge.

Since the Quebec disaster, at least eight significant accidents have occurred in North America, involving trains carrying either tar sands crude oil or Bakken crude oil, which is the source for the tankers bound for the Port of Albany. Ms. Fahy, pointing to the bankruptcy of the railroad company involved in the Lac-Megantic accident and the failure of its insurance to cover the billions in damage, suggests “terminal operators should put up enough financial security to cover expenses after something happens.”

That makes sense. In the same way General Electric is being held responsible to clean up PCBs from the Hudson River, the railroads and terminal operators profiting from crude oil transport should be required to invest in upgrades to safeguard against accidents, as well as surety for when an accident happens. This is a cost of doing dangerous business.

With Global Companies and Buckeye Partners seeing twofold increases in just a couple of years to 3 billion gallons of crude flowing through their terminals annually, and with railroad profits surging nearly 20 percent since 2009, these modern-day rail magnates can handle the expense.

Ms. Fahy’s bill would apply to all bulk storage facilities in the state that handle crude oil, and require financial security to meet all the responsibilities for cleanup and decontamination associated with any release of the oil.

She notes that, as freight railroads went from just 9,500 carloads of crude in 2008 to more than 434,000 carloads in 2013, the storage needs have increased accordingly.

According to the Times Union’s Brian Nearing, Lac-Megantic officials have estimated it will cost $2.7 billion to rebuild the shattered town, where more than 30 buildings were destroyed, and another $200 million to clean up oil-contaminated land, the sewer system and nearby bodies of water like the Chaudiere River.

We can’t let that happen here. Ms. Fahy’s bill is a step in the right direction.

Crude By Rail, DOT-111, Rail routing, Train speed

Oil tank cars pose a hazard when moving and when parked

Repost from  The Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY (Letters to the Editor)

Oil tanker rail cars pose a hazard when moving and when parked

To the Editor:

Every sports person knows that a moving target is harder to hit than a stationary one. When you can read graffiti on oil tanker cars parked in the train yards in Minoa, and other areas around Syracuse, you know you have a serious safety problem.

Interstate commerce allows Bakken crude-oil rail shipments from North Dakota to “pass” through Central New York State. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., wants the U.,S. Department of Transportation and the Association of American Railroads to reduce the speed limit of these oil tanker trains from 50 mph to 40 mph through Syracuse and other heavily populated areas. Between 200 to 300 tanker cars “pass” through the Syracuse area daily. Presently, the 40 mph speed limit only applies to Buffalo and the New York City area.

These antiquated, poorly designed DOT-111 tanker cars pose a potential danger to the populace and the environment regardless of their speed! This was evidenced by the recent CSX derailment of crude oil tanker cars in Lynchburg, Va.

It doesn’t make one iota of difference if these trains travel at speeds of 40 or 50 mph, as long as they keep “passing” through the Syracuse area. Parking, however, for indefinite periods in small populated communities, like Minoa, is not acceptable.

Are we, Minoa residents, considered collateral damage – dispensable, if an accident, man-made or otherwise happens?

Come on, CSX … move these hazardous oil tankers out of my village; my front yard is not a bomb depot.

M. Claire Crull
Minoa