Category Archives: Rail tanker cars

Davis CA, Environmental Impacts, Rail Safety, Rail tanker cars, Spill prevention and response, Take Action

Urgent concerns of our “uprail” friends & neighbors in Davis, CA

Repost from The Peoples’ Vanguard, of Davis, CA

Transport of Crude-by-Rail Puts Davis at Risk

February 3, 2014

Richard-2nd-St

By Lynne Nittler, Milton Kalish, and Matt Biers-Ariel

Background:  North Dakota Bakken crude oil production is booming, and oil companies are looking for a fast, convenient way to transport their sweet light crude oil to refineries across the U.S., including to the five refineries in the Bay Area.

A vast network of railroads crisscross the nation, making “unit trains” of 100 oil tank cars or more, an efficient and flexible method of transportation.  In the last few years, crude-by-rail shipments have increased tenfold.  According to a New York Times article, about two-thirds of the production in North Dakota’s Bakken shale oil field rides on rails, as there is no pipeline infrastructure.  As of 2013, more than 10 percent of the nation’s total oil production is shipped by rail.  (from Accidents surge as oil industry takes the train, by Clifford Krauss and Jad Mouawadjan,  Jan 26, 2014).

The number of oil trains nationwide is expected to increase significantly more in 2014 and beyond.

Crude-by-rail is skyrocketing in California.  According to the California Energy Commission, in 2013 railroads hauled more than over 6 million barrels of crude oil in California.  In 2014 that number may jump to 50 million barrels or more, and by 2016 rail transport is expected to reach nearly a quarter of California’s total oil consumption, or approximately140,000 barrels per day.

transport-crude

Benicia Valero Proposal:   Valero petitioned Benicia to allow the oil refinery to enlarge its train terminal in order to increase its production by 70,000 barrels of crude every day. That’s enough to fill 100 sixty-foot-long tank cars with highly flammable crude oil.  The Benicia Planning Commission has the power to approve the new rail terminal….or turn it down. Responding to pressure from citizens and a study prepared by the National Resources Defense Council, Benicia is currently preparing a draft Environmental Impact Review (EIR) for the project that will be available for written public comment sometime after the end of January.

The Danger:  There are major problems posed to the communities and the sensitive areas the trains pass through.  The unsafe tank cars with their volatile cargo pose an immediate and serious safety risk.

Accidents as warnings:  A rash of recent fiery accidents prove the point.  In the last year there have been 10 major rail accidents involving oil trains in the U.S. and Canada.  Last July, 47 people perished in a massive fireball when a train containing Bakken crude derailed and exploded in the Canadian town of Lac-Megantic, Quebec. Four more oil trains have derailed in Canada since then.

Figure 1 The number of crude-by-rail incidents increased even more in 2013.

Figure 1 The number of crude-by-rail incidents increased even more in 2013.

In November, a train carrying the same Bakken crude derailed in Alabama, possibly caused by trestle tracks that collapsed under the weight of the heavy tank cars. Twelve of the cars exploded, fortunately not in a populated area. In the last week of December, another 18 tank cars carrying Bakken crude derailed and exploded just outside of Casselton, North Dakota, forcing the town to evacuate to avoid the plumes of toxic smoke from the ensuing fires that burned for more than a day.  Another oil train derailed and exploded in New Brunswick days later.  There is no attempt to put out these massive fires; first responders simply keep people back and watch until the fires die down.

The main problems: If the Benicia Valero Project is approved, trains carrying highly flammable Bakken crude oil in the outdated DOT-111A tank cars (intended for non-flammable liquids such as fertilizer) will pass through the center of Davis after crossing the Yolo Bypass on trestle tracks. The propensity for these tanker cars to rupture and explode on impact and to corrode inside is now well-documented.

Furthermore, it’s becoming clear that the chemical composition of Bakken Shale oil itself is highly explosive and corrosive.  In addition, there are new challenges for rail inspections and the enforcement of existing safety codes with the sudden increase in long, heavy oil tank trains.  The safety of our families, our community and our environment will be increasingly at risk.

Figure 2 An additional 400,000 million gallons was spilled in the Casselton accident on Dec. 30, 2013.

Figure 2 An additional 400,000 million gallons was spilled in the Casselton accident on Dec. 30, 2013.

The route: How the trains will negotiate the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Feather River Canyon without a spill that contaminates our drinking water is terrifying to imagine.  Closer to home, on the way to the five Bay Area refineries the tank cars pass through Roseville, Sacramento, West Sacramento,  Davis, Dixon, and Suisun,  They cross sensitive natural areas including the American and Sacramento Rivers, the Yolo Bypass, and then cut through the protected Suisun Marshes to travel alongside Interstate 680 to Benicia.

We don’t know just how many oil trains came through Davis in 2013, but if the Benicia Valero train terminal is approved, 100 rail cars of Bakken crude oil (probably in two trains of 50 cars each) will soon be coming through Davis every day.

What can Davis residents do? Though the city of Davis cannot regulate trains that pass through it, concerned citizens and civic leaders can take advantage of the 45-day written comment period on the draft EIR report to submit comments with supporting evidence addressing at least the following concerns:

  • The 92,000 old DOT-111 tank cars presently in use need to be upgraded or replaced by safer tank cars with thicker shells and puncture/rupture-resistant shields, stronger valve fittings to prevent spills and fires if the cars should derail, and tanks that can withstand corrosive sulfur.  The recent oil company order for 60,000 new DOT-111 tank cars should be cancelled unless they are upgraded models.
  • The Bakken crude has proven to be more corrosive, sulfurous, or loaded with explosive gas than previously thought, and large amounts of vapor pressure can build up to dangerous levels.  Recently the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) required that cars must be properly labeled and the general public, first responders, shippers and carriers of the hazardous loads musts be properly notified.  More oversight is needed.
  • Safety regulations for rail transport including regular inspections must be thoroughly reviewed and then strictly enforced by the federal government.  For examples, at least one derailment accident may have been due to structural weakness in a rail trestle crossing, such as our causeway trestles.
  • Problems caused by under-crewed trains, track failures including weather damage, speeding downhill, obstacles on the tracks and other problems, speed issues (generally 35 mph in towns)  – all causes of recent derailments  – need to be specifically addressed by the federal government.
  • The current exemption for rail shipments of hazardous materials from the Emergency Planning and Right-to-Know law must be removed, so communities at risk can be informed of risks they are subject to if they are living or working near rail lines.  This includes the nature, volume and frequency of hazmat shipments and what to do to be prepared in case of an accident.  Emergency responders need to be aware of any hazards posed by the materials being transported through their communities, and plans for a coordinated response need to be developed.
  • The health, safety and environmental concerns of all up-rail communities need to be taken into consideration and fully mitigated before more crude-by-rail transport is approved.

Invite neighboring up-rail communities:  It is critical that Davis and all up-rail cities get involved at this point.  It would be wise for the up-rail communities to make comments to the DEIR in concert to amplify their effectiveness.  Davis has an opportunity to reach out to its neighbors in Roseville, Sacramento, West Sacramento, Woodland, Dixon, Vacaville, Fairfield and Suisun who will share the same risks to their safety and well-being as crude-by-rail transportation increases.  The Board of Supervisors for Yolo County should also be invited to join in a united response to the DEIR.

Building a strong coalition now will help as Tesoro Martinez and Wes-Pac Pittsburg Energy have proposals for more crude-by-rail that also may affect Davis.  Ultimately, a strong voice will give additional leverage to demanding intervention at the federal level as well.

The following Recommendations were adopted by the Davis Natural Resources Commission on January 27th, 2014 for the Davis City Council.  The issue has already been placed on one of the two February agendas for discussion.

1.  that the City of Davis submit formal comments signed by members of the City Council to the Draft Environment Impact Report (DEIR) for the Benicia Valero Project when it is released for public comment sometime after the end of January.  Consider at least the points mentioned above.

2. that the City of Davis reach out to civic leaders in neighboring up-rail communities and the Yolo, Solano and Sacramento County Board of Supervisors to invite them to sign the comments document (See item #1).

3.  that the City Council write a letter taking a position on the Benicia Valero rail terminal Project.  Such a letter from an up-rail ally could strengthen the Benicia city council resolve to protect their city should the decision be appealed to them, which is likely no matter how their Planning Commission votes.

5.  that the City Council ask the police chief to report on the Davis emergency plans for an event such as a train derailment or explosion.

6.  that the City Council ask staff  to write the CPUC regarding improved frequency of inspections, speed limits, human factor, and increase directives to the railroads to fix defects discovered.  This greater care on the prevention side will help prevent accidents.

7.  The city may also choose to write letters to appropriate state and federal agencies who have oversight or regulatory responsibilities, including the PUC.

More information:  Visit www.yolanoclimateaction.org for an annotated list of articles, the January 12th op-ed cross posted from the Davis Enterprise, the Natural Resources Defense Council Safety document, Attorney General Kamala Harris’ comments on the WesPac DEIR, a photo gallery and new posts including the link to our NPR Marketplace interview to air sometime in February.

Information on the Valero Project can be found at the city of Benicia.  A full history plus many articles and comments are posted at www.benindy.wpengine.com

Bakken Shale, Derailment, Rail Safety, Rail tanker cars

Video – Marilaine Savard of Lac-Mégantic speaks in Martinez, CA

Published on Feb 28, 2014
Thanks to Constance Beutel, Benicia

Marlaine Savard, spokesperson for a citizens’ group in the region of Lac-Mégantic, Québec, joined panelists in Martinez, CA to talk about the crude oil by rail tragedy that befell her town of Lac Megantic in 2013 where 47 people were killed by rail car explosions.  Her 9 minute story is moving – and incredibly important.

Bakken Shale, Oil Industry, Rail industry, Rail Safety, Rail tanker cars

Albany NY – crude by rail CROSSROADS

Repost from the New York Times

Bakken Crude, Rolling Through Albany

By JAD MOUAWAD

Rail tanker cars roll through Albany on their way to the port.
Credit: Stewart Cairns for The New York Times

ALBANY — On a clear December morning two years ago, a 600-foot oceangoing oil tanker called the Stena Primorsk left the Port of Albany on its maiden voyage down the Hudson River laden with 279,000 barrels of crude oil. It quickly ran aground on a sandbar.

The incident attracted little attention at the time. The ship’s outer hull was breached, but a second hull prevented a spill. Still, the interrupted voyage just 12 miles south of the port signaled a remarkable turnaround for the state’s capital.

With little fanfare, this sleepy port has been quietly transformed into a major hub for oil shipments by trains from North Dakota and a key supplier to refiners on the East Coast.

Hidden in plain sight, Albany’s oil boom has taken local officials and residents by surprise. Many became aware of the dangers of oil trains after a recent series of derailments and explosions, including one that killed 47 people in Quebec last July, which have generated concerns about growing rail traffic into the city. Trains rumble through the heart of Albany every day and often idle along the busy Interstate 787 highway while waiting to get into the port’s rail yards.

“This has caught everyone off guard,” said Roger Downs, a conservation director at the Sierra Club in Albany.

About 75 percent of Bakken oil production travels by rail and as much as 400,000 barrels a day heads to the East Coast, said Trisha Curtis, an analyst at the Energy Policy Research Foundation. Albany gets 20 to 25 percent of the Bakken’s rail exports, according to various analyst estimates.

“Albany has become a big hub,” Ms. Curtis said.

But opposition is starting to form over new plans by one energy company to expand operations here and, possibly, ship crude extracted from the oil sands of Canada into Albany. The company, Global Partners, which pioneered the use of Albany as a crude-oil hub, is also looking at shipping oil from a terminal in New Windsor, just north of West Point.

The rapid growth in the oil-by-rail business is raising alarms. Railroads carried more than 400,000 carloads of crude oil last year, up from 9,500 in 2008, according to the Association of American Railroads. Federal regulators have been under pressure to address the industry’s safety and recently outlined a series of voluntary steps, including slowing oil trains in some major urban areas.

Oil_flows_east_NYT

These steps are not enough to protect many communities along the rail lines, Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said this week. This includes many places in upstate New York, like Buffalo, Rochester, Utica, Syracuse and Albany, that have seen higher rail traffic. He compared the industry’s use of outdated tank cars to “a ticking time bomb” and urged federal regulators to quickly retire these older cars, known as DOT-111s, in favor of models built after 2011 that have better protections.

“The safety regime has to catch up with the reality that there are now hundreds of cars everyone admits could be dangerous if there is a derailment that are hurtling through heavily populated areas of New York State,” he said in a telephone interview Thursday.

Albany’s newfound role did not happen by chance. It has long served as a regional distribution center for heating oil and gasoline to Vermont. It is linked to the Midwest by rail and is close to many of the East Coast’s major refineries. This coincidence of geography and logistics has made it an ideal trans-shipping point for oil produced in the Bakken region, now about 950,000 barrels a day.

“Early on we saw an opportunity to supply East Coast refiners with cost-effective North American crude oil,” said Eric Slifka, the chief executive of Global Partners, which first brought oil by rail to Albany around the end of 2011. The company doubled its oil-handling capacity to 1.8 billion gallons a year, the equivalent of 118,000 barrels a day, in 2012.

Another energy company, Houston-based Buckeye Partners, made a similar calculation and also expanded its capacity for crude oil in Albany in 2012 to one billion gallons a year, up from 400 million gallons. At the time, state regulators at the Department of Environmental Conservation received no public comment.

“The D.E.C. has done all its studies and analyses, but my guess is just that the community doesn’t like the answer,” Mr. Slifka said in an interview. “I think it’s hard to turn back the clock. At the end of the day, the D.E.C. and government agencies have gone into this with their eyes wide open.”

Trains now come into Albany on average twice a day after completing a four-day journey from North Dakota, either through the Canadian Pacific network, via Montreal, or on the CSX rail lines that pass through Buffalo and Syracuse. These mile-long trains, each up to 120 tank cars long, can carry roughly 85,000 barrels of oil.

Once in Albany, the oil goes into giant storage tanks before being loaded onto barges that make daily trips to refineries down the Hudson. Some trains go to Pennsylvania. Every eight days, a bigger tanker, a Bahamas-flagged ship called the Afrodite, which replaced the Stena Primorsk after its accident, picks up oil destined for Irving Oil’s refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick, which produces gasoline for the American market.

“Bakken crude has been a lifeline for the East Coast refineries,” said Lawrence Goldstein, an energy economist.

Richard J. Hendrick, the Port of Albany’s general manager, said the new traffic had been a boon for the port and the longshoremen who work there. Ships still haul scrap metal to Turkey or large electrical components destined for a power plant in Algeria. But the port’s business has been increased by the oil traffic.

“We can do things faster and more safely here,” Mr. Hendrick said.

But hauling oil on rails comes with unanticipated dangers. After an oil train derailed and exploded near Casselton, N.D., late last year, federal regulators warned that Bakken crude oil was extremely volatile. On Tuesday, they ordered shippers to properly test and classify Bakken crude before loading it onto freight trains.

Heading_to_Albany_NYT“Albany is getting a lot of the risk and almost no economic benefits or jobs from this,” said Susan Christopherson, a professor at Cornell University’s Department of City and Regional Planning.

There is not much New York’s officials can do to reduce the flow of oil trains, despite the state’s commitment to low-emission fuels and its opposition to natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Officials acknowledge that they are powerless since railroad commerce is regulated by the federal government.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo nevertheless directed state agencies in late January to review their emergency and spill response plans and report back to him by the end of April. The state’s top environmental and transportation officials met with their federal counterparts last week to discuss the issue.

But there remains considerable uncertainty about how authorities would respond to an accident or a spill in the Hudson River. The Coast Guard conducted a drill in New Windsor last November. The mock event involved the derailment of four train cars and a 50,000-gallon spill in the Hudson from a storage tank.

“We continue to look for ways to improve coordination and response with our federal and local partners and, as directed by Governor Cuomo in his recent executive order, are evaluating the state’s spill prevention, response and inspection program for rail, ship and barge transportation of crude oil and other petroleum products,” said Emily DeSantis, the Department of Environmental Conservation’s spokeswoman.

That is little comfort for a broad coalition of environmental groups, elected city officials and residents, who said state regulators should have better anticipated these risks and are demanding a full review.

Chris Amato, who worked at the D.E.C. from 2007 to 2011 and is now a lawyer at the advocacy group Earthjustice, which is challenging the oil projects, said regulators should have performed a detailed environmental impact study two years ago. “A lot of people are upset that the D.E.C. is still dillydallying,” he said.

Vivian Kornegay, a City Council member, whose district is across from the rail yards and the port, said, “We want a do-over.”

Hundreds of residents attended a public meeting at an elementary school last month, and voiced their concerns over the expansion plans of Global Partners. The meeting focused on a recent application by the company that includes building seven heating units at its rail yard. Some say they believe the company intends to import heavier, dirtier crude from Canada’s oil sands in addition to Bakken crude.

Mr. Slifka, Global’s chief executive, said the heating units were needed to accommodate “any types of U.S. and Canadian crudes that would require heat to be put to them because of the viscosity.”

He added: “Where the crude comes from isn’t necessarily the focus. It’s making sure there is flexibility in the system to take various types of crude.”

Given the new opposition, state officials recently extended the public comment period on Global’s plans until April. They also said they would require the company to be more transparent about its plans, even if it has followed all regulations. The Department of Environmental Conservation is also conducting a review of “all matters pertaining to Global’s operations in New York State,” Ms. DeSantis, the agency’s spokeswoman, said.

“There’s been some clear indications that D.E.C. needs to be a better cop on the beat when it comes to this industry,” said Peter Iwanowicz, the executive director of Environmental Advocates of New York, and a former state official in charge of environmental issues. “But we can’t look back in the windshield. The reality is that Albany is now part of the oil patch.”

 A version of this article appears in print on February 28, 2014, on page B1 of the New York edition with the headline: Bakken Crude, Rolling Through Albany.
Derailment, Rail Safety, Rail tanker cars

Latest crude oil train derailment: Albany, NY, Feb. 28

Repost from the Albany Times Union

Friday’s Albany-area derailment follows rise in crude-oil shipments

Amid heightened attention, oil tankers at Selkirk yard derail without crude spill

By Claire Hughes
Updated 8:24 pm, Saturday, March 1, 2014

Oil tankers parked in the CSX Railyard on Saturday, March 1, 2014, in Selkirk, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union) Photo: Cindy Schultz

Oil tankers parked in the CSX Railyard on Saturday, March 1, 2014, in Selkirk, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Bethlehem

The derailment of 13 tank cars carrying crude oil at the Selkirk rail yard Friday night involved no rollovers, no spills and no injuries, according to shipper CSX and state regulators.

That’s no reason for residents to rest easy, said one industry observer, as the incident comes amid heightened scrutiny of crude oil shipments nationally and locally.

“Given the controversy about crude oil shipments into Albany, you would think that CSX is doing its dead-level best to avoid a derailment,” said Fred Millar, a Virginia-based independent consultant on hazardous material shipments whose clients include cities, trade unions and environmental groups. “Any sign of messing up like this is discomforting … These crude-oil unit trains have been blowing up all over the country.”

The cars derailed about 6:30 p.m. Friday, CSX said Saturday. The Times Union received information from the state Department of Transportation about the event around midnight and first reported it on Saturday.

State Department of Environmental Conservation staff were reportedly also on site Friday evening. A call to DEC Saturday was not returned.

The incident involved a train with two locomotives and 110 rail cars, carrying crude oil from Chicago to Philadelphia. The cars stayed upright and in line with no leaks, CSX said.

All cars were re-railed by 2:30 p.m. Saturday, CSX said. The cause is under investigation, officials said.

The accident was the fourth in the state involving CSX oil tankers since December, according to published reports. On Tuesday, one of three locomotives and a sand-filled car in a 97-car CSX oil train derailed in Ulster, about an hour south of Albany. In December, a CSX crude oil train derailed near Buffalo, but tanker cars remained intact. That was also the case earlier that month when an empty oil train struck a truck that exploded at a crossing in West Nyack, Rockland County.

“Obviously, we’re very concerned,” said DOT spokesman Beau Duffy. “That’s why we did the inspections earlier this week with the governor and why we’re working with the (Federal Railroad Administration) to do these inspections.”

The derailment in Selkirk occurred the same day the Cuomo administration touted an “inspection blitz” last week of oil trains, a rail yard and a terminal at the Port of Albany, but not the Selkirk rail yard. Public concern over the crude oil shipments has been growing as a flood of crude oil is being shipped across the country from North Dakota.

In the last two years, the Port of Albany has become a major shipping point for the oil headed for coastal refineries. Two terminals have state permission to handle 2.8 billion gallons of oil a year.

“Albany has now been unfortunately sort of targeted by the oil industry for a major flow of crude oil across the continent,” Millar said. “It’s like Houston on the Hudson, except with no jobs. You have a lot of the risks, but no jobs.”

Of particular concern for local communities is whether their emergency responders, including volunteer fire departments, are equipped to handle a significant spill.

“Nobody in their right mind would think that they’re prepared for a serious release,” he said.

Selkirk Fire Department Chief Bill Asprion had no information about Friday’s derailment. CSX did not contact the fire company, he said.

The type of tank cars that derailed were DOT-111s. Particular attention has been paid to DOT-111s, a model found to be prone to rupturing during derailments. In Quebec, 47 people died in an explosion last year when DOT-111s derailed. Explosions have occurred in accidents in Alabama and North Dakota.

Last week, state inspectors looked at 120 tanker cars at the Kenwood yard at the Port of Albany, owned by Canadian Pacific Railway. They found instances of defective steel wheels and defective brakes on DOT-111s, the governor’s office said. Inspections of about two miles of Kenwood yard track found 36 defects, including loose rail joints that were “immediately repaired” by CP workers, the governor said.

The Associated Press reported Thursday that a Jan. 20 CSX derailment in Philadelphia was caused by a maintenance crew’s failure to properly anchor temporary fasteners to crossties, an investigation by the railroad found. Although no oil spilled and no one was hurt, the derailment caused concern because it occurred in a densely-populated area.