Oil train derailed under Seattle's Magnolia bridge- July, 2014
Mike O'Brien, Seattle City Councilmember
HuffPost July 22, 2015
Dear Mr. Buffett,
One year ago this week, an oil train passing
through Seattle ran off the tracks underneath the
Magnolia Bridge,
derailing three of its 100 tank cars carrying Bakken crude oil from
North Dakota. Considering that unrefined Bakken crude is highly
volatile, we count ourselves lucky to have avoided the catastrophic
impacts these tank cars could have brought upon this city.
Today I
write to you inviting an action that supports the best interest of
Seattle and furthers your legacy as a leader of integrity for your
generation. As local and federal policymakers grapple with the
increasing risks oil trains pose to our communities, you are faced with a
watershed moment. You can use your influence as the largest shareholder
of Berkshire Hathaway, which owns not only Burlington Northern Santa Fe
Railroad (BNSF), but also Union Tank Car, to minimize the risk to life,
property, and the environment from oil trains.
An oil spill in
Seattle so close to Puget Sound could take millions of dollars to clean
up and a generation to recover. Or worse, an explosion in Seattle could
result in an untold loss of human life and property damage if it were to
occur downtown along the railroad tracks that run a stone's throw away
from the stadiums where the Mariners and Seahawks play. Frighteningly,
these scenarios are well within the realm of possibility, as we have
already seen five fiery oil train derailments in North America this
year. Something must be done to protect Seattle and countless other
cities across the country that bear the risk that your deadly oil trains
pose.
I've done everything I know how to do as a citizen, an
activist, and as a City Councilmember to try and stop an inevitable
disaster from happening. But cities are severely limited in our ability
to impose regulatory measures on oil trains. The federal government has
primary jurisdiction to regulate railroad use and therefore has the most
authority to mitigate the potential for tragic consequences associated
with oil train accidents.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe and
railroad industry representatives have used their influence to routinely
oppose federal and state safety regulations such as speed limits,
public information disclosure, liability coverage for catastrophic
incidents, minimum staffing requirements on trains, and electronically
controlled pneumatic braking systems. And as a result of industry
pressure, Model DOT-111 tank cars full of crude oil will still be
allowed on rail lines passing through Seattle for at least two more
years, despite the fact that they have a "high incidence of failure
during accidents" and "can almost always be expected to breach in
derailments that involved multiple car-to-car impacts," according to a
2012 Railroad Accident Report from the National Transportation Safety
Board.
This industry opposition poses disastrous consequences for
which railroad companies are not prepared. The Bakken crude-filled oil
train that derailed and exploded in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec vaporized 47
people instantly. In addition to the terrible loss of life, liabilities
totaled upwards of $2 billion and forced the railroad company into
bankruptcy. Yet, as the
Wall Street Journal reports,
there is not enough commercial insurance coverage in the world to
adequately cover the costs that would be associated with a worst-case
oil train derailment in a major city like Seattle.
Lac Megantic after oil train explosion, July 2013
Oil trains are
ticking time bombs on rails, and each one passing through a small town
in North Dakota or a large city like Seattle is a risk to the people and
the environment of that community. We urgently need stronger federal
protections against these dangerous oil trains rolling through our
communities. So I urge you to use your immense influence in Washington,
DC and around the country to call for the immediate passage of the
Crude-by-Rail Safety Act.
This
Act, sponsored by Senators Maria Cantwell (WA-D), Tammy Baldwin (WI-D),
Diane Feinstein (CA-D) and Patty Murray (WA-D), would strengthen
notification and disclosure requirements regarding oil by rail
shipments, require refinement of volatile Bakken crude prior to
transport, improve oil tank car safety, and establish comprehensive
emergency response plans in the event of large oil train accidents.
These regulations will provide far greater assurances than those given
by BNSF or Berkshire Hathaway thus far.
On the one-year
anniversary of Seattle's own oil train accident, I implore to you join
me in calling for public safety over profit. I ask that Berkshire
Hathaway and BNSF take full responsibility for the risks they impose on
Seattle and other cities across the country. I call on you to use the
full force of your influence to support the federal regulations
necessary for the oil and rail industries to bear the costs and risks of
safe oil production and transport. Doing nothing -- or worse,
continuing opposition to new safety regulations -- puts the lives of the
millions of people living and working along these railways in danger,
jeopardizes your legacy, and could leave you with blood (and oil) on
your hands.
Please join with Seattle and cities around the
country in calling for the safe, responsible transport of oil by rail,
and help us get out of this unjust situation where you make all the
profit while we bear all the risk.
Sincerely,
Mike O'Brien
Seattle City Councilmember
