Repost from Desmogblog, by Justin Mikulka, Fri, 2014-02-14
Since the oil train explosion in Lac-Megantic in July of 2013, we have learned that there are some obvious safety issues that need to be addressed regarding transportation of crude oil by rail. The first is that the majority of the rail cars transporting…
This is the new report (6 Feb 2014) that our congressional representatives are reading, a 25-page study by the Congressional Research Service on U.S. Rail Transportation of Crude Oil: Background and Issues for Congress. Download here: US Rail Transportation of Crude Oil.
North America is experiencing a boom in crude oil supply, primarily due to growing production in the Canadian oil sands and the recent expansion of shale oil production from the Bakken fields in North Dakota and Montana as well as the Eagle Ford and Permian Basins in Texas. Taken together, these new supplies are fundamentally changing the U.S. oil supply-demand balance. The United States now meets 66% of its crude oil demand from production in North America, displacing imports from overseas and positioning the United States to have excess oil and refined products supplies in some regions.
The rapid expansion of North American oil production has led to significant challenges in transporting crudes efficiently and safely to domestic markets—principally refineries—using the nation’s legacy pipeline infrastructure. In the face of continued uncertainty about the prospects for additional pipeline capacity, and as a quicker, more flexible alternative to new pipeline projects, North American crude oil producers are increasingly turning to rail as a means of transporting crude supplies to U.S. markets. According to rail industry officials, U.S. freight railroads are estimated to have carried more than 400,000 carloads of crude oil in 2013 (roughly equivalent to 280 million barrels), compared to 9,500 carloads in 2008. Crude imports by rail from Canada have increased more than 20-fold since 2011.
While oil by rail has demonstrated benefits with respect to the efficient movement of oil from producing regions to market hubs, it has also raised significant concerns about transportation safety and potential impacts to the environment. The most recent data available indicate that railroads consistently spill less crude oil per ton-mile transported than other modes of land transportation. Nonetheless, safety and environmental concerns have been underscored by a series of major accidents across North America involving crude oil transportation by rail—including a catastrophic fire that caused numerous fatalities and destroyed much of Lac Mégantic, Quebec, in 2013. Following that event, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a safety alert warning that the type of crude oil being transported from the Bakken region may be more flammable than traditional heavy crude oil.
Introduction ………………………………………………………………………. 1
Why Is Oil Moving by Rail?………………………………………………. 2
The Economics of Oil by Rail …………………………………………… 4
The Role of Barges and Ships in Domestic Crude Transportation … 7
The Jones Act ……………………………………………………………………………….. 8
The Role of Tank Trucks …………………………………………………… 8
Oil Spill Concerns ………………………………………………………………. 9
Special Concerns About Canadian Dilbit ………………….. 11
Special Concerns About Bakken Crude ……………………….. 12
Federal Oversight of Oil Transport by Rail …………………..12
Issues for Congress ……………………………………………………. 14
Railroad Safety and Incident Response ………………………….. 14
Tank Car Safety Design …………………………………………………….. 15
Preventing Derailments ……………………………………………………… 16
Railroad Operations…………………………………………………………….. 17
Incident and Oil Spill Response ………………………………………… 19
Rail vs. Pipeline Development ………………………………………….. 19
Rail Transport and Crude Oil Exports …………………………….. 21
Figures
Figure 1. U.S. Refinery Capacity by PADD in 2012 ………. 3
Figure 2. U.S. Refinery Receipts of Crude Oil by Mode of Transportation …. 4
Figure 3. Oil Spill Volume per Billion-Ton-Miles …………….. 9
Figure 4. Non-jacketed, Non-pressure Tank Car …………… 15
Repost from The Guardian, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
Even as she recounts the story today, Laroche remains calm, talking about phone service that was completely cut off and turning to the media to communicate with residents and to encourage them in the face of what had happened.
The local high school was transformed into a shelter for about 2,000 residents and for others to get information. Breakfast was served at the school at 7 a.m. following the initial explosions
More than 80 fire departments came to help fight the massive fire and the provincial government sent what help it could.
Laroche said more than 100 businesses in the downtown, that provide professional services, were relocated while 50 business, as a whole, were also moved.
Rebuilding the town is going to take a while, she said.
“We need three to five years before we can rebuild the area affected by the disaster,” Laroche said, noting that the total rebuild could take a decade.
Four condominiums in the area were turned into makeshift businesses with some opening in the next month or two.
Laroche said there is still so much to do. The town is now planning major consultations with residents.
“We need to involve our citizens. We need our people to find themselves (a part of) the reconstruction. Lac-Mégantic will never be what it was.”
Some residents want the town rebuilt as it was, others want a new image.
“Our citizens are beginning to realize it will be a very long process but we have a patient population. They are able to stand up and remain calm.”
Laroche said if there is a positive that came out of the tragedy it’s that it has brought the residents of the small Quebec town much closer together.
Repost from Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
At least 21 train tanker cars carrying crude oil and propane derailed shortly before 8 a.m. in Vandergrift near a specialty metals plant.
At least one of the cars leaked about 1,000 gallons of what Norfolk Southern Rail spokesman David Pigeon described as “heavy” crude oil. That car is resting near the East Vandergrift border. The spill did not make it to the Kiski River.
One car crashed into a building at MSI Corp, a specialty metals manufacturer, forcing officials to evacuated the building so it could be checked for structural integrity. Company employees in that building were sent home for the day.
No injuries have been reported.
Early in the afternoon, two Norfolk Southern contractors were on the scene to begin clearing the cars. Officials from Westmoreland County Emergency Management, the federal Transportation Safety Administration and local firefighters and police are at the scene.
Officials had considered evacuating homes from the nearby Sherman Avenue neighborhood but determined that wouldn’t be necessary. The closest homes appear to be about 250 yards from the derailment scene.
Norfolk Southern’s Pigeon said the train was en route from Conway, Beaver County, to Morrisville, about 30 miles north of Philadelphia. Neither he nor emergency officials had any information about what may have caused the derailment.
Although no streets are closed because of the derailment, the normally busy rail line is closed.
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