Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Officials air concerns about oil trains at Washougal meeting- and other news

Sonar image of bubbles rising from the seafloor off the Washington coast. Credit: B. Philip / Univ. of Washington

Officials air concerns about oil trains at Washougal meeting

Little cities can do to stop plans, Guard admits to BNSF

 

By Justin Runquist, The Columbian       December 9, 2014

In a humbling moment Tuesday night, Washougal Mayor Sean Guard turned to three representatives of BNSF Railway and admitted the city has little power to halt the rise of trains carrying volatile crude oil through Washougal.

"Obviously, we don't get the choice to stop you," Guard said. "We don't really get the choice of what you've got moving on those (tracks) or the times that they come through."

Guard and several members of the Washougal City Council hosted the BNSF representatives for a discussion Tuesday night at Washougal High School regarding a slew of concerns about safety and traffic impacts from the influx of oil trains through the region.....

.... Washougal Councilor Paul Greenlee is uneasy with the idea of more trains traveling so close to the city's water supply, in some spots less than 100 feet away.

"I don't care what your emergency response is," Greenlee said. "If you dump a train on top of that — and if you'll excuse my French — we are well and truly screwed."

Oil train disasters, though infrequent, are devastating, Greenlee said.

Among the top concerns is how long additional trains could hold up traffic at the major intersections. Guard asked what the city can do to mitigate the impact of trains running through the city. On two occasions, he's experienced getting stuck at an intersection for about 15 minutes while waiting for a train to pass.

The issue was also a major concern for Ridgefield Mayor Ron Onslow, who noted that stalling trains pose a serious threat to emergency responders trying to access the city's floating home community on Lake River.....  read more here

ND Industrial Commission to decide on oil conditioning standards

BISMARCK – Oil companies are urging North Dakota regulators to scale back proposed standards for treating crude oil to make it safer for shipment, warning the rules could increase natural gas flaring and emissions, damage equipment and add costs that could threaten some operations. By: Mike Nowatzki, Forum News Service
- See more at: http://www.prairiebizmag.com/event/article/id/21974/#sthash.SY9upb2U.dpuf

Warmer Pacific Ocean could release millions of tons of seafloor methane 

December 9, 2014        Science Daily    by Hannah Hickey.

Off the West Coast of the United States, methane gas is trapped in frozen layers below the seafloor. New research from the University of Washington shows that water at intermediate depths is warming enough to cause these carbon deposits to melt, releasing methane into the sediments and surrounding water.
 
Researchers found that water off the coast of Washington is gradually warming at a depth of 500 meters, about a third of a mile down. That is the same depth where methane transforms from a solid to a gas. The research suggests that ocean warming could be triggering the release of a powerful greenhouse gas....   read more here



By: Mike Nowatzki, Forum NewsService     12/09/14 

BISMARCK – Oil companies are urging North Dakota regulators to scale back proposed standards for treating crude oil to make it safer for shipment, warning the rules could increase natural gas flaring and emissions, damage equipment and add costs that could threaten some operations..... 

{Ed note: the proposed standards are inadequate, but still being fought strongly by the industry:  The Big Difference Between Oil "Conditioning" and "Stabilization"  }
 


Railroad to pay $625,000 in 2008 derailment that caused oil spill in Mississippi River

by: RYAN J. FOLEY,  Star Tribune    December 10, 2014

IOWA CITY, Iowa — A railroad company has agreed to pay $625,000 to settle allegations that it failed to adequately clean up a 2008 oil spill that damaged the shoreline and aquatic life in the Mississippi River between Iowa and Wisconsin.....

.... Wally Taylor, a Cedar Rapids environmental attorney, said he would consider filing a comment on behalf of the Sierra Club.

"It sounds like it's not nearly enough," he said of the settlement. "I suspect the company probably resisted pretty strongly but that the government didn't want to really take them to court. They were probably playing cat and mouse for six years."   read article here

Climate Deal or Not, Fight Against Global Warming Has Begun

NPR audio  12/05/14


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