41 coal, oil trains spotted in 1-week countywide watch

EVERETT — More coal, less oil.

That’s what a group of volunteers saw last week when they kept a round-the-clock vigil on the railroad tracks running through Snohomish County.

They counted 29 coal trains and 12 crude-oil trains. That compares to 24 coal trains and 16 crude-oil trains last year.

The new figures are in line with the number of oil-train shipments that BNSF Railway has reported to the state.

This was the second straight year that Snohomish County Train Watch has conducted the census.

“There’s definitely a role for citizen oversight, for citizens auditing,” said Dean Smith, an Everett retiree who founded the group.

Train watchers expected the crude-oil count to stay level, not to decline, Smith said. They hope to perform another tally in about three months to see if the pattern holds.

As recently as 2011, there were no oil trains passing through this area at all.

That changed with the shale-oil boom in North Dakota. Washington attracts many of those shipments as the fifth-largest refining state in the United States. Crude-oil trains travel through Snohomish County to reach refineries in Skagit and Whatcom counties.

Safety concerns about crude oil have raised public safety worries in the wake of fiery, sometimes deadly, explosions involving tank cars. That includes a July 2013 derailment that killed 47 people in a small Quebec town, plus several more this year.

Activists also object to coal-by-rail shipments because of pollution from burning coal and the potential environmental damage from coal-train derailments.

Crude-oil shipments have attracted intense attention from state and federal lawmakers.

The Legislature last Friday approved a bill designed to improve the safety around oil shipments through Washington.

It requires advance notice to emergency responders when oil-train shipments are expected. The idea is to improve readiness for potential accidents. The bill also would impose a per-barrel tax to help pay for safety and planning measures. As is, that tax is only imposed on oil that arrives by ship.

“We’re still studying the new language that came in, but at the end of the day, we’re all committed to do what’s in the best interest of the state and to running the safest operation possible,” said Courtney Wallace, a BNSF spokeswoman.

A bill that Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., introduced in March would establish new rules to lessen the volatility of crude oil shipped by tank cars. It also would bring an immediate halt the use of older tank cars known as DOT-111s that pose a higher risk for explosion. A companion bill is working its way through the U.S. House.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is expected to come out with new rules for rail tank car standards as early as Friday. That’s likely to include a timetable for phasing out the DOT-111 cars and even some versions of newer tank-car designs known as CPC-1232s. The agency also is looking at speed-limit restrictions for crude shipments through urban areas.

Separately, the U.S. departments of Energy and Transportation are planning a two-year study into how the chemical properties of crude oil affect its combustibility during rail accidents.

BNSF says that DOT-111s account for about 20 percent of the tank cars in use on its tracks throughout North America. Rail customers, such as oil companies and refineries, own the tank cars.

Smith, from the train watch group, estimated that about one-third of the tank cars he saw were the older DOT-111 models.

This year’s count ran from April 19 to 25. About 30 volunteers participated.

Their findings, published Tuesday on the group’s website, correspond with the eight to 12 crude-oil shipments of 1 million gallons or more that BNSF Railway reported to the state in September.

The U.S. Department of Transportation in June 2014 ordered railroads to start providing states with information about crude-oil shipments of 1 million or more gallons. Washington makes that information public through the state Military Department. Each oil train pulls up to 100 cars carrying a total of 3 million gallons of oil.

The federal order requires railroads to update oil shipment figures if they increase or decrease by 25 percent or more.

Last weekend in Everett, Smith and other volunteers met in neighborhoods near the tracks to practice an evacuation drill simulating an escape from an exploding oil train. Turnout was small.

The train watch group has been trying to work with Everett’s emergency management and fire officials to prepare for a derailment. They’d like to see emergency-preparedness training focus more on evacuation drills. They would like to see the city work with Naval Station Everett to use the base’s public address system to warn people during a disaster.

“We certainly appreciate the rail safety group’s attention to this issue and their efforts to make sure that the concerns are being addressed and that the safety issues are staying in the public eye,” said Bob Edgley, the fire department’s assistant chief of training.

City firefighters have trained with a regional hazmat team on oil-spill response and have participated in specialized training for crude-oil fires organized by BNSF. While the volume of crude oil traveling through the region is unprecedented, Edgley noted that trains have been carrying hazardous materials through Everett since the city was founded in the late 19th century.

Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.