Legalectric

Reuters File Photo

As if last month’s Bakken BOOM! derailment wasn’t enough, well, as of around 3 a.m. there was ANOTHER one in Ontario, this one just 37 km from the one a few weeks ago.  Hwy 144 and Hwy 101 are closed.  Local residents are told not to drink water.

From CP24, Toronto: Fire burning after train carrying crude oil derails in northern Ontario

“We have two exits in Gogama to get in and out of town and the bridge apparently is burned down,” Veronneau said. “So now we have one other exit, which is relatively close to where all of this is going on.”

… “My inn is about 200 feet from the train tracks and it’s a major concern for the people in town … If it had happened in the middle of town we wouldn’t be having a conversation right now because we would have gotten taken out. It would have been horrible being this close and the track runs right through the middle of Gogama.”

Reuters: UPDATE 4-Canadian Nat’l crude train derails in Ontario, on fire, leaking

From The Star:

CN train with crude oil derails, catches fire in northern Ontario

The TSB reiterated that it wants tougher standards than CPC-1232 for all Class 111 tank cars.

BNSF Update (21 cars derailed, 5 burning)

Another BNSF Bakken oil BOOM! train has derailed and blown up.  Evacuations are happening as I type within a 1 mile radius of the wreck.  DOH!  How much more of this will we have to take?

Access will be a problem on this one too, “had to access it by bike trail.”  Great, just great… They couldn’t get to the source of the fire, and had to leave quickly for safety reasons, abandoning over $10k of equipment at the site.  They’re going to “let it burn out.”  Could be a while.  EPA is on way from Chicago, BNSF crews from area.  There’s some good video on the KWQC link way below.   The oil is going down from the railroad grade, burning, and trees down there are on fire too, it’s a wooded area, and could go up in flames.  It’s not directly on the river, but the river isn’t that far away.

Dubuque Telegraph Herald — UPDATE: Evacuations underway as railcars burn near Galena

WQAD: Train carrying oil derails near Galena, Illinois

STrib: BNSF freight train loaded with crude oil derails near Illinois city of Galena, catches fire

Chicago Sun-Times: State agencies mobilize after crude oil train derails near Galena

Posted at Chicago Sun-Times:

KWQC: Clean-up crews on scene at train derailment site near Galena, Ill.

Visible on the ski slope cameras:  Live slope top cameras located at Chestnut Mountain Ski Resort.  Dark now, but should be visible again tomorrow.

Reuters: BNSF oil train derails in rural Illinois; two cars aflame

KWWL: UPDATE: 8 train cars derail; 2 continue to burn crude oil

Recently there was an AP article that flew around the country that mentioned the massive numbers of derailments projected, but the study was not linked in any of the articles I’d found, and oh was I looking.  Then I went searching around, made a few phone calls, and FINALLY, out of the blue, it appeared in my inbox today.

Who cares about some government study?  Well, with info like this, I do, and so glad to get it.  How’s this for starters:

And this, a chart of projected damages forecasted:And, drum roll please…. HERE’S THE STUDY:

U_S_DOT_PHMSA_-_Draft_Regulatory_Impact_Analysis_-_Hazardous_Materials_Enhanced_Tank_Car_Standards_and_Operational_Controls_for_High-Hazard_Flammable_Trains_Notice_of_Proposed_Rulemaking

Hot off the press, here is the Zip Rail Scoping Decision and Alternatives:

Final Scoping Decision Document	Reports	Jan 20, 2015		3 MB
Final Scoping Decision Document Appendix A	Reports	Jan 20, 2015		22 MB
Final Scoping Decision Document Appendix B	Reports	Jan 20, 2015		21 MB

Sign in sheets for meetings are in Appendix A.  Comments received are in Appendix B.

In addition to the requisite “No Build Alternative,” the route options they’re looking at in the EIS will include:

I wonder if they’ve considered the big natural gas pipeline that runs across Hwy. 14 along the pink/purple route between Dodge Center and Rochester?

Also looks like a potential problem by Cannon Falls and Hwy. 19… Wild & Scenic River designation, sandwiched in between the Byllesby Dam, Hwy. 52 and the City of Cannon Falls.  Can’t see how that would work, particularly with that CapX 2020 transmission line right there and the DOT restrictions on putting that through.  I… DON’T… THINK… SO…

The Draft EIS is supposed to be completed in 2015.  Something tells me that’s a bit overambitious…

Some rail safety reports and issues hot off the press from NTSB.

• Rail alert about rail warning lighting, where LED was bright and obscured the incandescent red stop light.  BOOM! It’s all about “conspicuity!”  SA_038_Safety Alert – Visibility-Conspicuity

• Railroad Accident Report: NTSB Report_ChafeeMO_RAR1402

• Railroad Accident Brief: NTSB Report_KeithvilleLA_RAB1414

And from the Canadian Transportation Safety Board, the report on the Lac Megantic derailment and massive explosion published in August, 2014 (can’t find that I’d posted it, how can that be?  Well, here it is.)

• LacMegantic_Transportation Safety Board Of Canada_R13D0054