Oil-soaked wetlands in Aliceville, Ala., following a November 2013 spill
As US debates oil train safety, local rules gather steam (+video)
Christian Science Monitor
The US Department of Transportation is crafting new safety rules for oil train cars, hoping to lower the risk of disaster after several high-profile accidents. But in the meantime, states and cities are mulling action of their own – from making oil less volatile, to slapping fees on oil cars that run through cities.
Video: Seattle city leaders concerned about oil train risk
....The
debate between boosting safety and helping the oil boom is playing out across
communities on the front lines of the US energy boom.
On Monday,
Nebraska decided to make public information on oil shipments by rail. North
Dakota is considering tighter restrictions to make crude from its booming
Bakken region less volatile. And Chicago wants to impose a fee on rails cars
that chug through the city....
... In Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has backed a fee for rail cars that haul
oil through the metropolitan area. Funds raised by that fee could be
funneled into training and equipping firefighters to respond to rail
catastrophes. read entire article here
Increased crude oil shipments have emergency responders preparing for large scale oil spill
Star Tribune October 2, 2014ONALASKA, Wis. — Nearly 100 emergency responders are training this week for the possibility of a large oil spill on the Mississippi River caused by a train derailment.
The training is a response to rapidly rising rail shipments of crude oil from North Dakota that pass by the Mississippi. North Dakota has more than doubled its oil production in the last two years to more than 1 million barrels a day.
Federal, state and local emergency responders gathering in the La Crosse area will practice deploying booms to contain a spill, learn how to deal with oil-covered wildlife and train in communication and organization.
David Morrison of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is directing the exercise. Morrison says the energy boom is bringing a lot of crude oil in regular proximity to natural resources and refuge areas.
What a bunch of B.S...you cannot fix this disaster! The most apt term to call a planned "emergency response" to a large spill/explosion of Bakken crude oil is quite simply a "ruse: an action intended to deceive someone." Don't be deceived. Crude oil in proximity to rivers, oceans, natural resources, birds is by very nature volatile and risky. However, it is being proven, again and again, if you have enough money, and a city administrator, and govenor, or two, in your pocket you can do just about any thing you want. Natural resources, wild life refuges and human safety be damned. Greed and deceit win again!
ReplyDelete