Thursday, February 19, 2015

Ontario, Riverkeeper Calls for Immediate Steps to Protect Public From Danger of Crude Oil Trains

 Ontario, Riverkeeper Calls for Immediate Steps to Protect Public From Danger of Crude Oil Trains

Leah Rae, Riverkeeper, (914) 478-4501 ext. 238 or (914) 715-6821, lrae@riverkeeper.org
After Disasters in West Virginia and Ontario, Riverkeeper Calls for Immediate Steps to Protect Public From Danger of Crude Oil Trains
OSSINING, N.Y. – Feb. 18, 2015 – In the wake of two crude oil train disasters in three days, Riverkeeper is calling for immediate federal and state action to protect communities and the environment from the imminent hazard presented by the virtually unregulated shipment of crude oil by rail.
"What will it take for our leaders to act?" John Lipscomb, captain of Riverkeeper's Hudson River Boat Patrol Program, asked, in light of the litany of crude-by-rail derailment disasters that have happened in the past two years. "How many more derailments? How many more explosions? This is an unacceptable risk."
Every year, billions of gallons of oil move through states like New York – over crumbling bridges, through pristine ecosystems, and alongside schools and businesses.  New federal safety rules for the surging industry of rail shipment of crude oil are due out this May – months after they were originally slated to be published. But the plan is riddled with loopholes, and the most obvious step – taking the worst-designed, most dangerous rail cars out of service – wouldn't happen for years.
Enough studies. Enough waiting. Riverkeeper and communities around the nation once again call upon the State of New York and the Secretary of Transportation to take immediate action to address the all-too-evident dangers threatening our communities, economies and environment every day.
The State of New York should act on its emergency authority to suspend the permits granted to Port of Albany oil transloading facilities, which facilitate this ongoing endangerment. The state Department of Environmental Conservation must then require an environmental impact statement prior to any possible reactivation of those permits.
The U.S. Secretary of Transportation must, based on the imminent hazard posed by crude-by-rail, issue an Emergency Order applicable to all crude and ethanol transport by rail that immediately:
  • Institutes a speed limit, taking into account rail conditions, environmental and public health risks, and community vulnerabilities, that protects the public.
  • Prohibits the use of the 23,000 tank cars identified by the NTSB and PHMSA as being the most vulnerable and least resilient tank cars on the rails.  These “worst” tank cars – which include both CPC-1232s and DOT-111s – should not be permitted for use in hauling any other hazardous liquids (such as tar sands crude oil).
  • Requires that railroads immediately develop comprehensive spill response plans keyed geographically to each county through which these trains travel.  Such plans are required for vessels carrying crude oil, but not for trains – an unacceptable loophole that needs to be closed.
Monday's derailment in West Virginia unleashed a huge fireball, destroyed a home, forced residents to evacuate and closed downstream public water supply intakes. Another oil train derailed and exploded in rural Ontario Saturday night. These incidents follow a string of other rail disasters across the continent, most tragically the derailment and explosion in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, in July 2013, in which 47 people lost their lives.
“No community should be subject to the real, imminent dangers that crude oil trains present,” said Sean Dixon, Riverkeeper Staff Attorney. "But the oil burning on the Kanawha River in West Virginia could as easily be on the Hudson River.  Imagine the fireballs going up in our communities. Imagine our river on fire. Imagine our drinking water intakes closed."
"The very same crude oil rolls through our communities and along our rivers, from Buffalo to Albany, along the Mohawk, down the Champlain Valley, through Hudson Valley communities like Albany, Catskill, Kingston, Newburgh, and West Nyack," Dixon said. "The federal and state governments must act now to protect our communities, our river, our environment."
Riverkeeper is a member-supported watchdog organization dedicated to defending the Hudson River and its tributaries and protecting the drinking water supply of 9 million New York City and Hudson Valley residents.

Waterkeepers Chesapeake Decries Another Crude Oil Train Explosion

Waterkeepers Chesapeake Decries Another Crude Oil Train Explosion 

 Wednesday, 18 February 2015 10:38

Waterkeepers Chesapeake Decries Another Crude Oil Train Explosion Marcus Constantino/Reuters
Disaster on the Kanahwa River in West Virginia is another example of a rail system not able to handle highly volatile Bakken crude oil transport.
On Monday afternoon, a train hauling Bakken crude oil derailed along the Kanawha River in Fayette County, West Virginia. Twenty of the cars caught fire and a home was destroyed. There are reports that cars continued to burn yesterday and an unknown volume of oil has leaked into the Kanawha River. West Virginia Headwaters Waterkeeper Angie Rosser is responding to the disaster, with support from Waterkeeper Alliance.
“Our thoughts are with the residents of Fayette County and the first responders as they deal with this explosion and toxic oil spill. While one home was damaged, many people evacuated and drinking water supplies impacted, thankfully no one was seriously injured,” said Betsy Nicholas, Executive Director of Waterkeepers Chesapeake. “Incidents like this one are yet another warning that our entire region is at risk. Our rail systems, suffering from years of delayed maintenance, were not made for this highly volatile cargo.”
According to CSX, the train consisted of two locomotives and 107 rail cars and was traveling from North Dakota to Yorktown, VA, the same rail line that runs through Lynchburg, Virginia.  All of the oil cars were the CPC 1232 models, the presumably upgraded tanker cars that are “safer” than the outdated, inadequate DOT-111 cars. These newer CPC 1232 also derailed and exploded on the James River at Lynchburg in April 2014.
“This dangerous event could have happened on the James River again,” said Pat Calvert, Upper James Riverkeeper. “This is the same rail line that runs along hundreds of miles of the James River and through many population centers in Virginia. This is an alarming reminder that our river and communities continue to be at risk every day without stronger safety requirements for Bakken crude oil transport. Increased inspections of the lines carrying this highly volatile material are vital to the safety of Virginians and the James River – a key drinking water supply for millions.”
The number of tanker cars traveling through towns and cities and along rivers has increased exponentially due to the Bakken oil fracking boom in North Dakota. The number of tanker cars on U.S. rails jumped from 9,500 carloads in 2008 to 415,000 in 2013, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The Congressional Research Service reported that 258,541 carloads of crude traveled over the nation's railroads in the first half of 2014. Bakken crude oil is more volatile and flammable than other crude oils, as demonstrated by explosion of the CPC 1232 model tank cars.
We are very concerned that access to information about routes and cargo continue to be kept from the public and that the DOT’s final rules which were promised in January are delayed until May. Rail safety experts say that in many circumstances, all local responders would be able to do in the event of a large tank car fire is simply let it burn. But that approach would involve tremendous damage in the many densely populated areas in our region through which crude oil is now moving by rail.
The threats of derailments in cities like Baltimore are real. Two years ago a train was hit at a crossing in Baltimore County and exploded. Several years prior a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed underground within the City, exploded, and burned for days at extremely high temperatures. Days later spilled chemicals from the derailment caused an explosion within the City's stormwater system, launching manhole covers into the air. During the same April 2014 rain storm associated with the Lynchburg crude oil derailment and fire, a retaining wall collapsed and fell onto CSX train tracks in Baltimore, just feet from where the trains run underneath a public park and an elementary school.
“The rail companies are fighting the states to keep the information from the public. Meanwhile, these crude oil train derailments continue unabated,” said Nicholas. “All indications are that the U.S. DOT will allow transport of Bakken crude with these flawed railcars for the foreseeable future. Our Waterkeepers will continue to fight for stronger protections and the public’s right to know.”
Contact: Robin Broder, robin(at)waterkeeperschesapeake.org, (703) 786-8172
DOWNLOAD FULL STATEMENT

Additional resources: Maps of rail systems and crude oil routes and incidents:
http://bit.ly/1vUx6EN (Monday’s derailment)
http://riveratrisk.org (James River)
www.Blast-Zone.org
Map by county (by McClatchyDc)
http://projects.propublica.org/graphics/oil-trains
http://www.fractracker.org/2014/08/rail-accidents/

 

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Trains are carrying — and spilling — a record amount of oil

Trains are carrying — and spilling — a record amount of oil

Emergency crews and environmental officials are responding to a train derailment in West Virginia that sent at least one tanker containing crude oil into a river and also caused a nearby house to catch fire. (AP)
When 14 tanker cars derailed and exploded Monday near tiny Mount Carbon, W.V., neighbors likened the fireball to a scene from the apocalypse. It was “like something Biblical, or wrath-of-God type stuff,” one resident said.
In fact, the oil spill and fire on the banks of the Kanawha River was the latest occurrence of a type of accident that U.S. officials say is becoming distressingly common. Federal agencies are documenting a dramatic rise in the number of rail mishaps involving oil tankers in the last three years, as North American producers scramble to find ways to transport surging oil output to markets.
The fiery explosion of oil-laden CSX tanker cars along a snowy stretch of south-central West Virginia came just two days after a similar incident in eastern Ontario, and follows a year that shattered all previous records for rail accidents involving shipments of petroleum products.
More than 141 “unintentional releases” were reported from railroad tankers in 2014, an all-time high and a nearly six-fold increase over the average of 25 spills per year during the period from 1975 to 2012, according to records of the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The year 2013 had fewer accidents but a much larger volume of spilled crude: 1.4 million gallons, an amount that exceeded the total for all spills since record-keeping began in 1975.
The increase adds yet another dimension to the controversy overthe construction of oil pipelines such as the Keystone XL. Oil industry advocates contend that pipelines are safer than rail for moving flammable petroleum, while opponents say pipelines tend to experience much larger spills. The latest spill also highlights well-documented shortcomings in the local preparedness for accidents involving hazardous rail cargo, safety experts say.
“Back-to-back fiery derailments involving crude oil trains should be an unmistakable wake-up call to our political leaders,” said Mollie Matteson, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, an Arizona-based environmental group.
The toll from the latest disaster is far from clear. West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency in two West Virginia counties as firefighters and hazmat crews worked for a second day to control the fire and contain an oil spill that contaminated a small creek and threatened to spread to the Kanawha River, a source of drinking water for cities and towns downstream. Nearly 2,500 people were evacuated when portions of the 109-car train derailed and then caught fire in a rural area southeast of Charleston.
Only one injury was reported, but a nearby house was destroyed as one tanker after another exploded, creating columns of smoke and flame that could be seen for miles. A CSX spokesman had no immediate explanation for the accident but confirmed that leaking oil had already reached one of Kanawha’s tributaries.
“Fires around some of the cars will be allowed to burn out,” the company said in a statement.
Transportation experts have long complained about inadequate oversight and gaps in local preparedness for such accidents. Earlier this month, the Obama administration began a review of proposed new rules for oil-hauling trains, including provisions that would mandate updated tanker designs for freight trains hauling flammable cargo. But on Tuesday, CSX officials disclosed that the tankers that caught fire in West Virginia bore the latest design features, raising doubts over whether the new rules would have helped.
Part of the problem, energy experts say, is that transportation has not yet caught up with the sheer volume of oil being pumped by U.S. and Canadian companies in the past three years. In 2012, trains carried 40 times more oil than they did in 2008, and the volume doubled again in the following year, to nearly 800,000 tanker-car loads, according to figures posted by the Association of American Railroads. In production areas where pipelines are unavailable or at capacity, rail has become the transit choice by default, Charles Esser, an analyst with the International Energy Association, wrote in a recent blog.
“North American rail shipments of oil are by no means unprecedented, but until the recent surge in production, they were largely limited to stopgap, temporary use, with pipeline construction favored,” Esser wrote. While overall only about 10 percent of U.S. crude moves by tanker car, nearly 70 percent of the production from North Dakota’s surging Bakken fields reaches refineries by rail, he said.
“Not surprisingly, accidents have increased, as well,” Esser said. The petroleum that spilled in West Virginia on Monday originated in North Dakota and was headed for an oil terminal in Yorktown, Va.
As accidents mount, so do chances for major disasters that could pollute communities and the environment, Matteson said. She cited the July 2013 derailment in Quebec that killed 47 people and forced the evacuation of 2,000 people.
“People’s lives are at stake, clean drinking water is at stake, and the well-being of towns and wildlife along thousands of miles of rail line are directly in harm’s way of this unchecked, reckless increase in oil transport by rail,” she said.
Joby Warrick joined the Post’s national staff in 1996. He has covered national security, intelligence and the Middle East, and currently writes about the environment.

The New, Everyday Fiery Train Crash


The New, Everyday Fiery Train Crash

A derailed crude-oil shipment in West Virginia is the latest terrifying accident—despite new federal regulations and reputedly safer tanker cars.
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Even for West Virginia, a state that has suffered more than its fair share of industrial disasters, the images from a train crash Monday are apocalyptic: many cars derailed, fires so fierce firefighters are simply waiting for them to burn out, 300-foot fireballs. "It was like an atomic bomb went off," one resident told the Associated Press.
Miraculously, there don't seem to be any serious injuries in the wreck, which took place south of Charleston. The more-than-1oo-car CSX train was hauling crude oil from the Bakken formation in North Dakota to Yorktown, Virginia. (In a bitter irony, it went off the rails in Mount Carbon.) Residents have been evacuated from the area, the West Virginia National Guard is testing a tributary Kanawha River to see if crude has seeped into it, and two water-treatment plants shut down Monday, depriving residents of running water, to avoid contamination. The cause of the crash is still unclear, officials said. While it occurred in the midst of a snowstorm, there was no definitive connection yet, and the train was on a flat stretch when the accident happened.
The wreck is the latest in a steady stream of scary crashes involving crude oil across North America. By far the worst was in Lac-Megántic, Quebec, in 2013, when 47 people were killed. In December 2013, there was a huge derailment in Casselton, North Dakota. (A second oil train derailed nearby months later, but it was empty.) Last April, 15 cars derailed and caught fire in Lynchburg, Virginia.
But just Sunday, a 100-car train hauling crude derailed and caught fire in Ontario. On Saturday, another train derailed in Alberta, though without any apparent leaks.
One reason for the increase in accidents is the enormous growth in train hauling of oil, in turn driven by expanded oil production in the western United States. Trains also haul crude oil from western Canada, including from the tar sands that would be served by the Keystone XL pipeline if it is built.

Carloads of Crude Oil Hauled, 2005-2013
Association of American Railroads

The U.S. Department of Transportation reacted to the crashes by announcing new safety standards one year ago: Speed limits are lower in cities, and trains have to add more braking technology. Those steps were voluntarily taken by rail companies, and critics attacked them as insufficient, accusing railroads of excessive secrecy. Three months later, in May 2014, the department added more rules for disclosure and called on railroads to replace older, less safe tanker cars called DOT-111s with newer ones, CPC-1232s.
And that's perhaps the scariest part of the West Virginia crash: The CSX train was hauling only newer, reputedly safer cars when it derailed and caught fire. A car that caught fire in the Lynchburg crash was also a CPC-1232. The National Transportation Safety Board told the Senate last April it didn't think CPC-1232s were good enough.
Almost a year after the federal government moved to tighten the standards, crashes don't seem to be stopping. Nor are the cars that have been widely viewed as a panacea as effective as regulators or the industry apparently hoped. And despite dropping oil prices, it's unlikely that production will stop anytime soon in the Bakken or Alberta; as long as the nation and the world runs on fossil fuels, crude oil will have to move across the continent and through towns and cities.
The Department of Transportation is still considering stricter rules, and safety advocates say there's more than can be done. North Dakota recently mandated that oil companies filter some flammable liquids out of crude. For the time being, though, fiery crashes may remain frighteningly routine.

West Virginia In State Of Emergency After Massive Oil Train Explosion


West Virginia In State Of Emergency After Massive Oil Train Explosion

Posted on  
"West Virginia In State Of Emergency After Massive Oil Train Explosion"
At least 14 rail cars of crude oil from a train owned by CSX Corp. are on fire in West Virginia.
At least 14 rail cars of crude oil from a train owned by CSX Corp. are on fire in West Virginia.
CREDIT: CBS News/Screenshot
Crude oil is pouring into a river that supplies drinking water and approximately 1,000 people have been evacuated from their homes due to an oil train derailment and explosion in southern West Virginia on Monday, according to media reports.
The train, owned by CSX Corp., was carrying more than 100 tankers of crude oil from the Bakken shale in North Dakota when it derailed at about 1:30 p.m., the L.A. Times reported. Officials estimated that approximately 14 of those tankers were involved in the derailment and subsequent fire, which as of 9 p.m. was still raging. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency at around 5:40 p.m.
One home has so far been confirmed destroyed, and at least one person has been sent to the hospital for inhaling smoke. CSX put out a statement Monday night saying it would provide hotel rooms for displaced residents.
Concerns have also been raised about the potential contamination of local water-treatment facilities, after officials noted that at least one of the derailed tanker cars fell into the Kanawha River. The area is about 30 miles from the location where 10,000 gallons of a coal industry chemical called crude MCHM spilled and tainted the drinking water supply a little over one year ago.
Response efforts have so far been hampered by heavy snow. The area has been under a winter storm warning, according to the Associated Press, and is expected to get anywhere from 5 to 10 inches of snow tonight.
The derailment in West Virginia was the second major oil train mishap this weekend. Late Saturday night, a train carrying Bakken crude oil derailed in northern Ontario, Canada, spilling oil and causing a fire. In that incident, 29 of the 100 cars on the train went off the track near Timmins, Ontario. An “unknown amount” of oil was spilled.
Some research has suggested that Bakken shale crude oil is more prone to catching fire and exploding than other types of crude. According to the Wall Street Journal, it’s the most explosive type compared to oil from 86 other locations worldwide, and The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has confirmed that it can catch fire at lower temperatures than heavier oil.
Allegations were raised about the volatility of Bakken shale light crude oil after a number of high-profile train derailments and subsequent explosions, most famously including the deadly Lac-Mégantic, Canada disaster, which killed 47 people. Officials at PHMSA have speculated that the oil’s explosive nature could be because of the particular properties of the oil, or the added chemicals from fracking, the primary technique used to extract it in North Dakota.
Though much of the political discussion over fossil fuels has recently focused on Canadian tar sands oil and a certain proposed pipeline that would carry it, it’s worth noting that Bakken shale oil is primarily shipped by rail. Indeed, up to 90 percent of the North Dakota’s oil was expected to be shipped by rail, rather than pipeline, in 2014.
The U.S. Transportation Department is currently considering whether to implement tougher safety regulations for rail shipments of crude oil.

West Virginia oil train derailment: Fires for hours, smoke

West Virginia oil train derailment: Fires for hours, smoke

Associated Press

Towns evacuated as oil tanker derails in W. Virginia

Towns evacuated as oil tanker derails in W. Virginia
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MOUNT CARBON, W.Va. (AP) — Fires burned for hours after a train carrying more than 100 tankers of crude oil derailed in a snowstorm in West Virginia, sending a fireball into the sky and threatening the water supply of nearby residents, authorities and residents said Tuesday.
Officials evacuated hundreds of families and shut down two water treatment plant following the Monday afternoon derailment. The West Virginia National Guard was taking water samples to determine whether the oil had seeped into a tributary of the Kanawha River, state public safety division spokesman Larry Messina said.
On Tuesday, black smoke could be seen rising from some of the tanker cars in a photo posted by WSAZ-TV on Twitter.
Messina said fire crews decided to let the tanks burn themselves out.
Federal railroad and hazardous materials officials are probing the accident, in which part of the train formation hit a house. The office of Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, which has issued a state of emergency, said the tanker cars were loaded with Bakken crude from North Dakota and headed to Yorktown, Virginia.
All but two of the 109 cars being hauled were tanker cars, officials said. One person was treated for potential inhalation issues, but no other injuries were reported, according to a statement from CSX, the train company.
David McClung said he felt the heat from one of the shuddering explosions at his home. He lives about a half mile up a hill from the site.
"It was a little scary. It was like an atomic bomb went off," he said. One of the explosions that followed sent a fireball at least 300 feet into the air, McClung added.
The state was under a winter storm warning and getting heavy snowfall at times, with as much as 7 inches in some places. It's not clear if the weather had anything to do with the derailment, which occurred about 1:20 p.m. Monday along a flat stretch of rail about 30 miles southeast of Charleston.
Responders at the scene reported at least one tanker went into the river but Messina said early Tuesday that that did not appear to be the case.
Local emergency responders were initially having trouble getting to the house that caught fire, he said.
Fourteen to 17 tankers caught fire or exploded, said Jennifer Sayre, the Kanawha County manager.
West Virginia American Water shut down a water treatment plant, located about 3 miles from the derailment, spokeswoman Laura Jordan said. Another water plant downstream in the town of Cedar Grove also closed its intake but later resumed operations, Messina said.
About 85 displaced residents went to shelters set up by CSX and the American Red Cross, he said.
The U.S. Transportation Department is weighing tougher safety regulations for rail shipments of crude, which can ignite and result in huge fireballs. Responding to a series of fiery train crashes, including one this spring in Lynchburg, Virginia, the government proposed rules in July that would phase out tens of thousands of older tank cars that carry increasing quantities of crude oil and other highly flammable liquids. It's not clear how old the tankers were on the derailed train.
The Lynchburg train also was hauling Bakken crude oil from North Dakota to Yorktown, Virginia.

Train derails, explodes in West Virginia; crude oil spills into river

Train derails, explodes in West Virginia; crude oil spills into river

ac360 train derailment oil spill west virginia_00000805

Massive explosion after train carrying oil derails 02:34

Story highlights

  • More than a dozen cars from a train carrying crude oil catch fire
  • Oil spills into a river used for drinking water; parts of the river were on fire
(CNN)A train hauling crude oil derailed and exploded in West Virginia, displacing up to 1,000 residents and contaminating the local water supply.
At least 27 of the train's more than 100 cars veered off the tracks, the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety said. And at least 15 of the derailed cars caught fire.
One home was destroyed, and one person was injured, agency spokesman Lawrence Messina said.
Complicating matters: Oil from the train spilled into the Kanawha River -- a source of drinking water in Kanawha and Fayette counties. Even parts of the river caught fire amid the explosions, Messina said.
At least two water treatment plant shut down Monday night as officials investigate how much oil may have spilled into the river, CNN affiliate WSAZ said. About 2,000 people were at risk of losing water service.
"Customers in the Montgomery area are asked to conserve water and only use it for essential functions," West Virginia American Water said in a statement.
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin issued a state of emergency for Kanawha and Fayette counties.
About 1,000 were displaced due to the threat of fire or from power outages caused by the fire, Messina said.
The heat from the flames was so intense Monday night that crews couldn't get closer to investigate until at least Tuesday, WSAZ said.

Chronic explosions

Some train cars exploded at unpredictable intervals, shocking residents with each deafening blast.
"We were standing down by the river bank when we saw the train explode -- or a car explode -- and it shot up a mushroom cloud," witness Alex Fandor told CNN affiliate WSAZ.
As he spoke, another loud explosion sent an colossal fireball into the sky.
The blasts continued even 10 hours after the derailment. The biggest explosion took place around midnight, Montgomery volunteer firefighter John McGinnis said early Tuesday morning.
And he said there are still two or three cars that firefighters are worried about.
Messina said it's not clear what caused the derailment.
"We've had some severe winter weather conditions here with significant snowfall," he said. "We don't yet know whether that's a factor in this."

Oil train derails in West Virginia

U.S.
John Raby / AP

Oil train derails in West Virginia

At least 14 cars burst into flames, one enters a river, and two nearby towns have been evacuated, local media report

A CSX train hauling crude oil has derailed in West Virginia with at least 14 cars bursting into flames and two nearby towns evacuated in the second significant oil-train incident in three days, local media reported on Monday.
At least one of the tank cars has entered the Kanawha River, and one car ran into a house before bursting into flames, the Charleston Gazette newspaper reported, citing Lawrence Messina, communications director for the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety.
Messina said local emergency responders were having trouble getting to the house that caught fire. He did not know if anyone was inside.
The nearby towns of Adena Village and Boomer Bottom were being evacuated after the incident, which occurred at 1:30 p.m., local television news channel WOWK reported.
One person was being treated for potential inhalation issues, but no other injuries were reported, according to a news release from CSX, the train company
At 6 p.m., Gov. Earl Ray Tomlin issued a state of emergency for Kanawha and Fayette counties. His office said the tanker cars were loaded with Bakken crude from North Dakota and headed to Yorktown, Virginia. A safety alert issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation (PDF) last year warned the public, emergency responders and shippers about the potential high volatility of crude from the Bakken oil patch.
It was not immediately clear where the train was heading or whose oil it was carrying. However, the crash occurred less than 200 miles west of Lynchburg, Virginia, where another CSX train bound for an East Coast oil terminal run by Plains All American Pipelines derailed and erupted in flames last April.
The state was under a winter storm warning and getting heavy snowfall at times, with as much as 5 inches in some places. It's not clear if the weather had anything to do with the crash.
Kanawha County Manager Jennifer Sayre told the Charleston Gazette that there was burning oil on the Kanawha River, and that county officials have told water company officials in Cedar Grove and Montgomery to shut down their water intakes. She told the Gazette that each tank car contained 33,000 gallons of crude oil.
Theresa White, the director of Fayette County Emergency Management, told the Gazette that the U.S. Coast Guard was on the scene with booms to contain the oil.
West Virginia American Water spokeswoman Laura Jordan said the company shut down a water treatment plant, located about 3 miles away, at about 2:30 p.m. local time. The plant serves about 2,000 customers, or about 5,000 to 6,000 people.
State health officials said another water plant downstream in the town of Cedar Grove also closed its intake.
The fire continued burning along a hillside Monday evening, and small fires could be seen on the river. As of 9:30 p.m. local time, billowing flames could still be seen coming from several rail cars and something appeared to be burning on the partially frozen river.
Clean-up was expected to take several days, as the fires burn themselves out, said Joe CristFayette County fire coordinator. About 200 residents were evacuated.
Crist said West Virginia American Water was testing to see if Kanawha River water had become contaminated.
David McClung said he felt the heat from one of the explosions at his home about a half mile up the hill.
His brother in law was outside at the time of the derailment and heard a loud crack below along the riverfront, then went inside to summon McClung, his wife and their son.
One of the explosions that followed sent a fireball at least 300 feet into the air, McClung said.
"We felt the heat, I can tell you that," McClung said. "It was a little scary."
The latest incident comes just two days after Canadian National Railways (CN) train from Alberta's oil sands derailed in a remote wooded area of northern Ontario. CN said 29 of 100 cars were involved, and seven caught fire. No injuries were reported, but the cars were still on fire Monday.
The U.S. Transportation Department is weighing tougher safety regulations for rail shipments of crude, which can ignite and result in huge fireballs.
Responding to a series of fiery train crashes, the government proposed rules in July that would phase out tens of thousands of older tank cars that carry increasing quantities of crude oil and other highly flammable liquids. It's not clear how old the tankers were on the derailed train.
Al Jazeera with wire services

Century-old train trestle in Tuscaloosa getting $2.5 million in repairs

Century-old train trestle in Tuscaloosa getting $2.5 million in repairs

Local environmentalist claims it's not enough to make it safe



Dustin Cunningham, with Railworks, directs traffic on Jack Warner Parkway as team members replace piling posts on the train bridge in front of the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Monday Jan. 5, 2015.
Staff photo | Erin Nelson
Published: Sunday, January 11, 2015 at 11:00 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, January 11, 2015 at 11:42 p.m.
An estimated $2.5 million in repairs is under way on the railway crossing the historic Mobile and Ohio Railroad train trestle spanning the Black Warrior River.
Watco Companies, a Pittsburg, Kan.-based transportation company that leases this section of track from Kansas City Southern, a holding company that owns the track, declined to give specifics on the nature of the repairs.
But Tracie VanBecelaere, communications director for Watco, said the bridge work should be finished by next month with the rest of the railroad repairs finished by April.
"But," VanBecelaere said, "that is dependent on the weather."
The repairs come alongside a Dec. 31 report on a yearlong investigation by the McClatchy Company into national railway safety and the transportation of Bakken crude oil.
The story begins and ends with anecdotes about the 19th-century Tuscaloosa landmark. It raises questions about the safety of the trestle as well as the general transportation of the fossil fuel that originates out of the Bakken Shale Oil Field in North Dakota.
In recent years, the area has become a hotbed of oil production — primarily through the use of hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" — and millions of barrels now flow from the region.
But Bakken crude oil has a different makeup from traditional heavy crude oil, so much so that the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued an alert in January 2014 warning first responders, shipping companies and the general public of its danger.
The warning prompted the International Association of Fire Chiefs to send out instructions on how to handle the substance with "flash point and boiling points (that) may be lower than other traditional light crude oil," the association's warning said.
In July, the Wall Street Journal reported that safety measures normally installed to reduce the volatility of crude oil was skipped in the Bakken region. Now, the product unearthed there is a highly combustible mix that often is rejected by pipelines for being too dangerous to transport.
That's where the trains come in.
A series of derailments of trains transporting Bakken crude caused fires and explosions that often made national news.
The closest to Tuscaloosa occurred near Pickens County Road 2 just south of Aliceville in November 2013 when a 90-car train went off the tracks. About a dozen cars were hauling Bakken crude and the spilled oil caught fire, sending black plumes of smoke into the air that could be seen for miles and causing the evacuation of at least one family.
In June, a train derailment in Buhl caused seven tanker cars to leave the track. Some of them were carrying crude oil, but none of the cars ruptured and nothing caught fire.
Still, as a precaution, six homes that fell within a 1,000-foot radius of the crash site were evacuated.
John Wathen, an environmentalist with the Waterkeeper Alliance and founder of the Hurricane Creek Creekkeeper group, said he has spent months examining the train trestle along with the tracks that feed into and lead away from it.
He said more needs to be done to ensure the structure is safe and that Watco's current repair efforts are not enough.
"This has gotten so bad. It's like putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound," Wathen said. "Their high bar for safety is the low bar for national safety, and that's wrong."
Watco said the train trestle is inspected annually by Watco inspectors, Kansas City Southern inspectors and a third-party bridge inspector, Osmose Railroad Services.
VanBecelaere said the inspections are required by the federal government, but Wathen said no division of the U.S. Department of Transportation or any other agency oversees them.
"There are no federal inspectors for those bridges," Wathen said. "It's the fox guarding the hen house."
Ed McKechnie, Watco's executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said through VanBecelaere that Watco was aware of Wathen's concerns with the train trestle.
"John has a passion for the environment just as we have a passion for the safety of the communities we serve and our team members," she said. "We are constantly reinvesting in our railroads and are committed to operating them safely."
Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0200.