U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., on Wednesday introduced legislation that would “immediately ban” the use of rail cars considered unsafe to haul crude oil, and create new volatility standards for the oil itself.
The Crude-By-Rail Safety Act of 2015 would prohibit all DOT-111 and certain CPC-1232 model tank cars from hauling crude oil — a move that would affect tens of thousands of rail cars currently in use. Many believe the older models are inadequate for carrying crude, and the cars have been involved in a string of derailments and explosions during the last two years.
The bill would also require the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to develop new rules limiting the volatile gas components of crude oil that is transported by rail. That’s an important point somewhat overlooked in the debate over oil train safety, Cantwell said. Volatility questions have swirled around crude oil from the Bakken shale of North Dakota, which accounts for much of the oil now rolling through Washington daily.
Two to three oil trains now pass through Clark County and Vancouver each day on the way to existing facilities. A proposal to build the nation’s largest oil-by-rail terminal at the Port of Vancouver would more than double that number. The plan by Tesoro Corp. and Savage Companies has also put the city in the national spotlight.
“Vancouver is probably the epicenter of this debate, both locally and what it represents,” Cantwell said.
Cantwell’s bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., along with fellow Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin. The proposal was cheered by environmental groups, which have cited the dangers of derailments and spills in their opposition. A spate of recent incidents in West Virginia, Illinois and Canada have only amplified those arguments.
“It shouldn’t take four massive oil train accidents in a month to know that explosive crude oil cannot be safely transported by rail in substandard tank cars,” Kristen Boyles, an attorney at Earthjustice, said in a released statement. “Senator Cantwell’s legislation is comprehensive, common sense, and critical for the safety and well-being of communities all along the rail lines.”
The bill also includes new requirements for oil spill response plans, tank car design standards and the disclosure of rail routes. The proposal would also impose new fines for companies that don’t comply with safety laws and authorize funding for first responder training.
Tesoro-Savage officials have said the Vancouver terminal would use robust safety practices and tank cars that exceed federal standards. BNSF Railway last year announced plans to add thousands of “state-of-the-art” tank cars to its fleet. The federal Department of Transportation has proposed a two-year phase-out of the older DOT-111 cars.
Cantwell said replacing unsafe tanker cars more swiftly is reasonable. The senator’s office estimates that the new legislation takes about 37,700 cars off the rails, and federal data show that approximately 40,000 cars can be manufactured or retrofitted every year.
It’s unclear how the proposed legislation will fare in the Republican-controlled Congress. Cantwell said there are multiple possible paths forward.
“We’re going to look for different legislative vehicles to move this, either comprehensively or pieces of it,” said Cantwell, ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
The proposal also drew praise Wednesday from Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt. The city opposes the Tesoro-Savage terminal, and has imposed a moratorium on any future crude-by-rail projects.
“These measures will both help prevent and prepare us to better respond to potential incidents,” Leavitt said in a released statement. “This is a bold and aggressive step, but one that is necessary to prevent future derailments and better protect our homes, waterways and businesses from harmful derailments, spills and explosions.”
