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New Safety Rules Proposed To Curb Oil Train Fires

Tank cars carrying crude oil at BNSF Railway's Willbridge Yard in Northwest Portland. BNSF Trains carry Bakken crude through Washington and into Portland, where they transfer to a shortline headed to a terminal in Clatskanie, Oregon.
Tony Schick
Tank cars carrying crude oil at BNSF Railway's Willbridge Yard in Northwest Portland. BNSF Trains carry Bakken crude through Washington and into Portland, where they transfer to a shortline headed to a terminal in Clatskanie, Oregon.

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday proposed the most comprehensive rules to date aimed at improving the safety of trains carrying large shipments of crude oil and ethanol.

Thousands of older tank cars with a puncture-prone design flaw would be phased out within two years under the regulations, which apply to trains of 20 or more cars carrying flammable materials like crude oil. The rules would also reduce the speed of oil trains to 40 miles per hour, require better classification of crude oil and mandate enhanced braking systems for trains carrying flammable materials.

“While we have made unprecedented progress through voluntary agreements and emergency orders, today’s proposal represents our most significant progress yet in developing and enforcing new rules to ensure that all flammable liquids, including Bakken crude and ethanol, are transported safely,” Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx said.

The phase-in period for replacing or retrofitting older tank cars, known as DOT-111s, is shorter than the Canadian government's three-year phased plan. However, regulators left open the question of what kind of tank car will replace the old ones, saying they will choose later from among several proposals.

Many have called for a swifter retirement of the cars, which have been known to be especially dangerous since the 1970s. The Sierra Club and Forest Ethics filed a petition with the federal DOT seeking a ban of the tank cars.

In Seattle, City Councilman Mike O’Brien and eight council colleagues signed a letter Wednesday asking the DOT to prohibit shipments of Bakken crude in DOT-111 tank cars.

“Dozens of people have died in crude-by-rail accidents when DOT-111 tank cars were punctured and spilled flammable crude,” O’Brien said in the announcement. “The catastrophic explosions can be triggered by a single spark and yet they travel on tracks underneath downtown and flanking both Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field. Seattle cannot afford to sit idly by with public safety in our city at risk.”

The DOT’s proposed rules have drawn support from both labor unions and the railroad industry.

“We expect this to make things safer,” said Herb Krohn, legislative director for the SMART Transportation division in Washington, a union representing 2,000 rail workers in the state. “We are concerned not only for our members, but concerned also about the safety of the public. We have known for many years the design of the DOT-111 punctures quite easily. We are absolutely supportive and have been of a higher standard of rail car.”

Krohn said he supported the brake requirements, which many trains meet, But he expressed concerns about the slower speed requirements, which he anticipated could slow Amtrak trains. Crude oil shipments at currently allowed speeds have already taken the blame for delaying Amtrak passenger trains.

Tank cars have ruptured in several accidents at speeds as low as 24 mph. Regulators said they're considering lowering the speed limit to 30 mph for trains that aren't equipped with more advanced braking systems.

The freight railroad industry had met privately with department and the White House officials to lobby for keeping the speed limit at 40 mph rather than lowering it. Railroad officials said a 30 mph speed limit would tie up traffic across the country because other freight wouldn't be able to get past slower oil trains, which are often 100 cars or longer.

The Association of American Railroads, an industry lobbying group, said in a statement that the organization was still analyzing the rules, but that they provided a “much-needed pathway for enhancing the safe movement of flammable liquids.”

“The fact that the proposed rule incorporates several of the voluntary operating practices we have already implemented demonstrates the railroad industry’s ongoing commitment to rail safety,” AAR President Edward R. Hamberger said.

The proposed rules would also put into law a previous emergency order from the federal DOT requiring railroads to provide states with notifications for routes of trains carrying more than one million gallons of Bakken oil. Shipments of crude from both Canada and Utah move through the Northwest.

Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley previously had called for an expansion of that order to cover all types and shipment sizes of crude oil. In light of the new proposed rules, Wyden re-emphasized the need for more thorough notifications.

“I think the package certainly includes some positive aspects but I still believe strongly that the Department of Transportation has got to do a lot more to make sure our first responders know when oil trains are moving through their communities,” Wyden said.

Wyden said he found it odd that the department considered all ethanol and oil shipments to be high-hazard flammable trains, but only required railroads to file notifications for shipments from the Bakken region.

“I’m still troubled -- and we’re trying to sort through this -- about the prospect that Oregon communities like Baker City and Bend and Eugene could really be in the dark, still. And that’s unacceptable to me.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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