Oil explosion, coal train study, turn focus on railroads

Two recent events have renewed public interest in oil and coal shipments by BNSF Railway and other companies across Montana.

In July, 47 people were killed in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, when a runaway train carrying oil from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota derailed and exploded, burning much of the downtown area.

On Aug. 2, the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration issued an emergency order outlining new safety directives to prevent such an accident from happening here. One new rule — train cars carrying crude oil cannot be left unattended without first getting the OK from government officials.

Booming oil production in the Alberta tar sands and the Bakken oil fields has contributed to a 20-fold increase in the number of trains carrying oil across the U.S. since 2009. The major railroads hauled about 200,000 train cars carrying oil in 2012.

Insufficient pipeline capacity is one reason oil is being transported by rail, which is otherwise more expensive. BNSF has about 1,000 miles of track in the Williston Basin area, which includes the Bakken fields, serving eight terminals, with two more expected to be in operation at the end of 2012. The company spent $197 million last year on infrastructure improvements in Montana and North Dakota.

BNSF transported 88.9 million barrels of oil from the Bakken fields in 2012 — a 7,000 percent increase from 2008. The rail company transports oil to 30 percent of the nation’s refineries in 14 different states. The higher price paid for oil delivered to East Coast and West Coast refineries makes up for the higher transportation costs.

BNSF’s Hi-Line route through the Flathead Valley is used to deliver oil to refineries in the Pacific Northwest. Oil heading south from the Alberta tar sands could also end up on these tracks. Overall, crude oil shipments account for less than 1 percent of all carloads, but the number of trains is increasing, and so is the size of the trains — from 100 cars per train to 118.

The Manhattan Institute reported last year that rail accidents occur 34 times more frequently than pipeline accidents for every ton of crude oil or other hazardous material being shipped. The National Association of Railroads called that study flawed but acknowledged that the chance of a rail accident is about double or triple the chance of a pipeline accident.

Here in Columbia Falls, the local fire marshal learned about lax oversight when it comes to train cars shipping fuel back in 2002. At the time, City Service had been unloading diesel fuel from rail cars to trucks on a siding near the viaduct, and the company asked Columbia Falls Fire Marshal Dan Smith to inspect the site so they could begin offloading gasoline and aviation fuel at the same location.

That’s when Smith learned about the diesel offloading and that City Service had not complied with off-loading requirements provided by a U.S. Department of Transportation official. In addition, City Service told Smith it had BNSF Railway’s permission to offload diesel at the siding, but a BNSF official told Smith he had no knowledge of the operation.

Smith ordered City Service to comply with all safety regulations and kept an eye on the site. Eventually drip pans were placed beneath train cars, a security fence was installed, burnable material within 30 feet was removed, a remote-operated emergency shut-off valve was used, fire extinguishers were set up and no smoking signs were hung.

Increasing numbers of train cars carrying coal has also drawn public attention, especially with talk of more coal being shipped to West Coast ports bound for Asia. With Montana’s Otter Creek Tracts adding to coal coming from the Powder River area, the amount of coal shipped to the West Coast could skyrocket.

The Northern Plains Resource Council, an environmental watchdog group, estimates 18 trains carrying coal could pass through Montana each day if a new coal port is built at Cherry Point, on Puget Sound in Washington. The new port is expected to handle 48 million tons of coal per year bound for Asia.

Coal dust and traffic backing up at train crossings are two concerns of residents along BNSF’s tracks. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Washington Department of Ecology and Whatcom County have begun work on an environmental assessment for the proposed coal ports that could last two years.

In late July, the Department of Ecology announced that impacts to the state of Montana would be included in their study. How much effort will be spent in Montana, however, remains to be seen. On Aug. 2, a Department of Ecology regional director said there were no plans to visit Montana towns and cities, but he acknowledged that the scope of the study could change over time.