Gov. Jay Inslee and the state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council should say “no” to the proposed Tesoro-Savage oil terminal. In the last three years, thousands of people attended public hearings and protests, and many more comments have been submitted in opposition to the proposal.
There have been 14 oil train derailment spills in the last three years and 12 of them caught fire, and most exploded. If you’ve never seen an oil train explosion, search for “Quebec Oil Train Explosion” on YouTube.
In chronological order, derailment spills took place in the following communities:
Lac Megantic, Quebec.
Aliceville, Ala.
Casselton, N.D.
Plaster Rock, New Brunswick.
Vandergrift, Pa.
Lynchberg, Va.
LaSalle, Colo.
Wedena, Saskatchewan.
Timmens, Ontario.
Mt. Carbon, W.Va.
Galena, Ill.
Gogama, Ontario.
Heimdal, N.D.
Culbertson, Mont.
Sarah Feinberg, the acting chief of the Federal Railroad Administration, says that because the new tank cars rupture at 12 mph, the only way to prevent derailment spills and fireballs is to limit speeds to 12 mph.
It takes decades for aquatic environments to recover from an oil spill. We’ve already spent billions in salmon recovery efforts. Let’s not jeopardize our water, our salmon or public safety.
