Derailment after derailment. They just keep happening.
Since early February, there have been numerous derailments in North America carrying crude from North Dakota’s Bakken Shale. These accidents have sparked increased calls from citizens, the rail industry and lawmakers for the federal government to increase safety regulations.
To keep up with these incidents and new safety regulations, PublicSource provides a roundup of stories every Friday.
Spill plans could be kept secret
Tucked inside a larger U.S. House of Representatives transportation bill is a small section that could result in shielding the public from knowing how prepared railroads are for responding to oil train crashes and railroads’ worst-case scenario estimates.
Nurses stage “die in” at New York train station
Hundreds of nurses from a New York nurses association took over the Saratoga Springs Amtrak Station to protest so called “bomb trains,” or trains carrying crude oil, chugging through communities. The nurses called for greater safety precautions and said oil trains are a major public health threat.
Minnesota governor worried about oil trains
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton wrote a letter to BNSF Railway, one of the state’s major crude oil haulers, about an oil train route that had not been previously identified as such by the railroad. The governor said the new route puts an additional 99,000 people at risk in Minnesota and requested the rail company take additional safety measures.
Huge crude-by-rail facility pegged for West Coast
Even amid low oil prices Tesoro wants to develop a 42-acre site at Washington’s Port of Vancouver that would receive 360,000 barrels of domestic crude per day. If approved, it would be one of the biggest crude-by-rail facilities in the country.
Reach Natasha Khan at nkhan@publicsource.org. Follow her on Twitter @khantasha.
