Oil-train disasters rain crushing, nightmarish blows on communities crisscrossed by these needed but potentially lethal loads.
Very recently, tank cars carrying crude oil on tracks 12 miles from downtown Lynchburg, Virginia, derailed, their liquid load threatening the nearby James River. Thankfully, no one was injured and no environmental damage has been detected. A far more horrifying oil-train catastrophe last summer devastated a small community in the Canadian province of Quebec. An unattended train laden with crude “ran away” and derailed, igniting several of the 72 tanker cars and sending 1.6 million gallons of burning oil roiling like lava through the town of Lac-Megantic. Forty-seven people were killed.
Tellingly, National Transportation Safety Board recommendations cite a lack of Pacific Northwest readiness-for-disaster. Board discussions reflect concern about trains carrying oil in and around Portland and other Columbia River locales. Last year, more than 100 oil trains traveled in that particular vicinity. A May 5, 2014, News Tribune article details a heightened attention to preparedness on the part of state-agencies here in Washington. Agencies are working to measure our readiness for such calamities. Oil-terminal proposals for Vancouver, Hoquiam and other cities present a new impetus to this discussion.
Democratic lawmakers this past session marshalled support for stricter standards on oil-terminal reporting to the Department of Ecology (DOE). Specifically, proposals were advanced calling for ports to submit reports on the amount and frequency of oil-shipments. Democratic efforts went for naught, however, as Senate Republicans sidetracked their journey to passage. At least, though, a budget provision of $300,000 was OK’d for risk-evaluation. Another $652,000 was earmarked for geographic response plans the department is developing.
House Bill 2347, supported on the floor by almost all House Democrats and even a few House Republicans, cleared the people’s chamber, 57-37, would have:
- Commissioned a Washington State University study of our state’s capacity to respond to oil-train accidents.
- Required DOE to put together quarterly oil-transportation reports incorporating details from oil facilities.
- Authorized the department to write rules requiring tug escorts for oil tankers in Grays Harbor and on the Columbia River, as well as requiring additional tug escorts for tankers on Puget Sound — rules regarding some oil-storage or processing facilities sited or expanded before January 2020.
- Created a penalty between $1,000 and $1,500 for oil spills in some waters involving an oil barge towed by a tug that the department determines to have acted recklessly or negligently.