WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a violation against a North Dakota loading facility over a leaking oil car in northwest Washington state that initially wasn’t reported to state officials for a month.
The leak was discovered at the BP Cherry Point refinery near Ferndale in early November by federal inspectors.
About 1,600 gallons of oil was missing from the car, which had originated in Dore, N.D., at a facility operated by Musket Corp. and apparently escaped through a valve that was not properly shut. No local emergency officials were notified, and the state Utilities and Transportation Commission first learned about the spill in early December when BNSF Railway sent the agency a copy of a federal report it had 30 days to file.
The FRA violation was issued on Jan. 28, two days after McClatchy first reported on the leaking car. The agency has yet to determine the amount of the penalty, and the company will have a chance to negotiate what it will ultimately pay.
Though the spill was detected in Washington state, neither the railroad, nor the third-party company that unloaded the oil at Cherry Point could determine where the missing oil had spilled. BNSF said that no one reported a leaking car or an oil spill along the train’s path.
The Washington State Department of Ecology also investigated the incident, but ultimately determined that it could issue no penalties. Dave Byers, the department’s spill response manager, said that the investigation found no direct evidence of a spill.
Under federal regulations, the party that loads a rail shipment is responsible for ensuring that the cargo is safely and securely packaged for transportation. Railroads can refuse to accept a load that doesn’t meet federal requirements.
The federal violation was issued before a series of oil train derailments that have renewed focus on rail safety. The volume of oil shipped by rail has risen dramatically, and trains are the only practical means of moving oil from the Bakken region of North Dakota to coastal refineries, including those in Washington state, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.
In the past month, four oil trains have derailed and caught fire in North America.
On March 5, 21 cars of a 105-car BNSF oil train derailed near Galena, Ill., releasing Bakken crude near a tributary of the Mississippi River. On Feb. 16, 28 cars of a 109-car CSX oil train derailed in Mount Carbon, W.Va., along the Kanawha River. One home was destroyed and more than 100 people were kept away from their residences for four days until fires burned out.
On Feb. 14 and last Saturday, two Canadian National trains carrying diluted heavy crude from Alberta derailed and caught fire in northern Ontario on the same rail line about 23 miles apart.
All four recent derailments have cast doubt on an improved tank car design the industry voluntarily adopted in 2011 and have increased calls for an even stronger construction standard. The U.S. Department of Transportation sent its proposed regulations to the White House for Review on Jan. 30, and the final rule is scheduled for publication in May.
Meanwhile, the Canadian government on Wednesday issued an updated proposal on tank car design. The standard would include thicker tank walls, full-height shields on both ends of the car, thermal insulation to protect against fire exposure and an outer jacket to guard against punctures.
The final tank car proposals on both sides of the border are expected to be identical, given the seamless nature of rail commerce between the two countries.
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