Calif. AG Blasts CBR Project; Railroads Sue CA Over New Safety Rules

California Attorney General Kamala Harris blasts Benicia crude-by-rail project

Times on Line   By Tony Burchyns  10/08/14


California Attorney General Kamala Harris has blasted Benicia's environmental review of Valero's crude-by-rail project, claiming it underestimates safety risks and relies on an overly broad definition of trade secrets in failing to disclose the types of volatile crudes to be shipped.

In a letter to the city last week, Harris said Benicia's safety analysis was inadequate because it only considers "a fraction" of the rail miles that would be traveled by oil trains headed to the city's Valero refinery. Harris also faults the city for relying on Valero's "unenforceable" promise to use newer, safer tank cars that are not currently required by federal regulations.

The letter follows similar critical comments from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife's Office of Spill Prevention and Response and the Public Utilities Commission.....

.... Harris, whose duties include enforcing the California Environmental Quality Act, contends the city's project analysis fails to analyze air pollution impacts from the foreseeable change in crude oils that would be processed at the refinery. It also faulted the city for limiting the scope of its rail safety analysis to 69 miles of track between Roseville and Benicia, and failing to consider cumulative impacts from other crude-by-rail projects proposed in California.

The letter also criticized the city's finding that the risk of train spills of more than 100 gallons between Roseville and Benicia would be once in 111 years. Critics have said the analysis is flawed because it relies on rail safety data that predates the nation's crude-by-rail boom....
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Railroads sue California over new crude oil safety requirements 

George Warren, KXTV  News10.net  10/08/14 

SACRAMENTO - The major railroads operating in California are suing the state to block implementation of new regulations imposed on crude oil transportation by rail.

Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway Company and the Association of American Railroads claim the new state law expanding the scope of state Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) is preempted by federal law.

Senate Bill 861, which took effect July 1, imposes a 6.5 cent fee on every barrel of oil entering California to fund the new oil spill protections. Previously, the fee was only charged on oil arriving by sea.....

...The railroads' lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, claims the federal government already prescribes elaborate safety standards governing rail car design and operation, capacity and type of crude being transported.

The lawsuit claims SB 861, which will bar railroads from transporting oil in California without a state-approved spill prevention and response plan, squarely overlaps existing federal rules....
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Local rules/fees for oil trains increase; Emergency responders prepare for large spills

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  By Jared Gilmour, Staff writer October 2, 2014

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, 2014

ONALASKA, 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.

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Rail shipping disruptions, fees and flammable materials- new stories

Oil trains crowd out grain shipments to NW ports

Seattle Times  July 26, 2014

As oil trains hauling North Dakota crude delay rail transport of grain to Pacific Northwest ports, the prospect of growing fossil-fuel traffic has some fearing that such shipping disruptions will become a long-term problem impeding exports and the regional economy.....

Oregon Oil Train Safety Report Calls For More Rail Inspectors, Fees

Daily Astorian    July 26, 2014

A statewide rail safety report released today identifies gaps in the resources Oregon needs to prevent and respond to an oil train derailment.

The report, ordered by Gov. John Kitzhaber in February, calls for more rail safety personnel and more funds to pay for training emergency responders for an oil train derailment. To help pay for both of those needs, the report recommends charging fees for transporting crude oil by rail through the state.....

Proposed rail transportation safety rules will impact ethanol industry 

Saturday, July 26, 2014   By Robert Pore      Grand Island Independent

Last week the U.S. Department of Transportation released details of its rulemaking proposal to improve the safe transportation of large quantities of flammable materials by rail — particularly crude oil and ethanol.,,,

.... Dinneen expressed concern that the rule paints with too broad a brush and fails to distinguish between products with an admirable safety record — ethanol — and those for which legitimate and serious concerns have been raised — highly volatile crude oil from the Bakken.....