The Big Problem with Letting Small Railroads Haul Oil

 
10/08/14  By Eric de Place and Rich Feldman    Sightline Institute 

The disaster in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec—where 47 people were killed by a Bakken oil train derailment—is commonly understood to have resulted from a train slipping its brakes and then rolling downhill into town where it crashed disastrously. It was a tragedy, but it should not be considered just a mechanical accident.

In truth, it was a self-reinforcing chain of events and conditions caused by underinvestment, lack of maintenance, and staff cutbacks. And it’s a lesson the Northwest should heed because it illuminates the risks of allowing small regional and short line railroads to pick up unit trains of crude oil from bigger railroads like BNSF and transport them short distances to refineries and terminals. The region is home to at least two small railroads with big oil-by-rail aspirations. One already hauls oil trains several times a week through Portland and small towns in northwest Oregon while the other, plagued by a string of recent derailments, aims to service no fewer than three terminals at the Port of Grays Harbor.

The story from Quebec—of what happened to the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic (MMA) railroad—is the story of a disaster waiting to happen. MMA was a regional railroad assembled in 2002 by a holding company from the assets of bankrupt Iron Road Railways, which owned four small railroads operating in Maine, Vermont, and Quebec. MMA had struggled financially from the start just as its major customers in the forestry industry also struggled. It went through a series of cutbacks to staff and maintenance.


Increased traffic from oil-by-rail was going to be MMA’s ticket to financial stability. Instead, following the Lac Megantic wreck, MMA was forced into bankruptcy, leaving billions of dollars of cleanup and damage costs uncovered by its minimal insurance.

Aberdeen City Council

Tonight the Aberdeen City Council voted Unanimously in favor of Council member Alan Richrod's resolution against Crude by Rail.

Ironically, tonight was the previously scheduled presentation by the Port of  Grays Harbor. They left quickly after their power point, nimbly avoiding being tainted by public opinion.

The Daily World covered Alan's resolution earlier this week, and I will update this post with tomorrow's article.

Congratulations, and our Thanks! Good Job, Alan!


A resolution of the City Council of Aberdeen, Washington

WHEREAS - between 29 April and 21 May of 2014, there were four derailments of the Genesee and Wyoming rail line between Centralia and Aberdeen that raise serious questions about the capability of this rail line to handle current export commodities letting alone the 150 car unit trains of explosive Bakken and tar sands crude oil; and,

WHEREAS - the Genesee and Wyoming railroad has admitted that they were unaware of the poor condition of the railway and the real bed of the line through Grays Harbor County; and,

WHEREAS - in July 2013 a line of DOT 111 tank cars filled with Bakken and tar sands crude oil derailed in Lac Mégantic, Québec resulting in the destruction of 40 buildings and the deaths of 47 people; and,

WHEREAS - the emergency response teams of the city of Aberdeen as well as the surrounding cities, are not adequately equipped to handle explosions and fire from railcars carrying crude oil or other flammable petroleum distillates; and,

WHEREAS –various groups and organizations such as the Washington State Council of Firefighters through their legislative lobbyist Geoff Simpson, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 77 SeaTac through their business manager Lou Walter, the International Longshoremen and Warehousemen’s Union Local 4, Vancouver through their president Cager Claubaugh and Railroad Workers United, Spokane through their Steering Committee member Robert Hill have registered strong opposition due to safety concerns, to the transportation and storage of crude oil anywhere in the state of Washington; and,

WHEREAS - catastrophic explosions, spills and death due to derailments of tankers carrying Bakken, tar sands and other crude oil have also occurred in Castleton, North Dakota, New Brunswick, Canada, Aliceville, Alabama, Lynchburg, Virginia and other sites within the year since July 2013 and could occur in any town along the rail line including Aberdeen; and,

WHEREAS – the seafood industry accounts for nearly half of the region’s economic value and that industry would be irreparably devastated by spills of crude oil into the waters of Grays Harbor; and,

WHEREAS –shipments of fruits, grains and other vital commodities are experiencing delays and stoppages due to precedence being given to crude oil trains resulting in goods damage and higher prices; and,

WHEREAS – agencies of the United States government, including the Federal Railroad Admiration (FRA), have, in July of 2014 proposed an overhaul of safety standards for transporting crude oil and alcohol by rail due to the safety concerns over railroad conditions and the conditions of the DOT 111 tank cars;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ABERDEEN WASHINGTON THAT:

The City Council of Aberdeen Washington asks the commissioners of the port of Grays Harbor to reconsider their proposal to build three marine terminals for the transfer of Bakken, tar sands and other crude oil which will result in this oil being transported on DOT 111 railcars known to be unsafe through our urban centers, farm areas and the city itself thus endangering the health, safety, welfare and economic viability of our citizens, the natural environment that supports the fishing and shellfish industries and our entire County.

The City Council of Aberdeen Washington strongly requests that cities and other governing bodies responsible for current permits consider rescinding current permits and deny future permitting in light of new information regarding rail safety and the volatility and explosiveness of the crude oil products involved; this information not being presented at the time of the original permit requests.

The City Council of Aberdeen Washington strongly urges the Washington Department of Transportation and the Freight Mobility Strategic Investment board to analyze and study the potential economic effect of this oil train traffic on the displacement of existing economic activity and the potential loss of access to rail transport by local and regional shippers.

The City Council of Aberdeen Washington requests that Governor Inslee, in accordance with the Centennial accord between the federally recognized Indian tribes and the state of Washington established in 1989, work directly with the Skokomish Indian Tribe, Chehalis Confederated tribes, the Nisqually tribe, the Squaxin Island tribe, the Quinault Indian nation, the Shoalwater Bay Tribe and other such tribes as are necessary to protect their treaty rights and fishing resources which are threatened by proposed oil terminals, expanding oil refineries and the routing through their territories of crude oil unit trains carrying Bakken, tar sands and other crude oil.

Stabilizing Bakken crude; and plans for Short-Line safety institute

 

Does ND crude need to be stabilized?

What can be done to keep trains from becoming "Bakken bombs?"

8/25/14  April Baumgarten, Forum News Service  Prairie Business

DICKINSON, N.D. - What can be done to keep trains from becoming "Bakken bombs?"
It's a question on the minds of many North Dakota residents and leaders, so much that some are calling on the state Industrial Commission to require oil companies to use technology to reduce the crude's volatility. The words are less than kind.
"Every public official in America who doesn't want their citizens incinerated will be invited to Bismarck to chew on the commissioners of the NDIC for failing to regulate the industry they regulate," Ron Schalow of Fargo wrote in a Facebook message.
- See more at: http://www.prairiebizmag.com/event/article/id/20534/#sthash.n9NiIoPx.dpuf

DICKINSON, N.D. - What can be done to keep trains from becoming "Bakken bombs?"

It's a question on the minds of many North Dakota residents and leaders, so much that some are calling on the state Industrial Commission to require oil companies to use technology to reduce the crude's volatility. The words are less than kind.

"Every public official in America who doesn't want their citizens incinerated will be invited to Bismarck to chew on the commissioners of the NDIC for failing to regulate the industry they regulate," Ron Schalow of Fargo wrote in a Facebook message.... read more here

Rail News: Safety
FRA provides two grants to help develop a short-line safety institute

Progressive Railroading 8/25/14

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will award two grants totaling $350,000 to support the development of a Short Line Rail Safety Institute, U.S. Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced late last week. The FRA confirmed the grants in a press release issued on Friday.

The senators earlier this year proposed the formation of a Short Line Rail Safety Institute to enhance short-line safety, including the transportation of crude oil and ethanol. On May 15, Murray and Collins sent a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx expressing support for the institute, and in June they introduced legislation to authorize its formation.

The FRA will provide a $250,000 grant to the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association to begin the pilot phase of safety culture assessments. Pilot testing will begin in January 2015 and initially will focus on the safety of crude by rail.

The association plans to use the grant to conduct a comprehensive review of short lines' existing safety programs; use tools developed by the University of Connecticut to identify areas of non-compliance and help small railroads develop a safety culture; provide access to effective safety training processes, programs and resources; and develop large libraries of training tools, technical materials and other educational resources to assist small railroads in instilling a safety culture.

The FRA also will provide a $100,000 grant to the University of Connecticut to conduct initial work focusing on the development, testing and validation of safety education, training and related programs for short-line managers and employees......more here

 

Does ND crude need to be stabilized?

DICKINSON, N.D. - What can be done to keep trains from becoming "Bakken bombs?" By: April Baumgarten, Forum News Service
- See more at: http://www.prairiebizmag.com/event/article/id/20534/#sthash.n9NiIoPx.dpuf