EnergyNew rules proposed for crude oil shipments
U.S Department of Transportation (DOT) secretary Anthony Foxx has announced that the department is proposing new rules for shipments of high-hazard crude oil by trains, as well as moving to phase out the use of older tank cars that many see as unsafe. The order follows a deadly year for oil train accidents, including a July 2013 derailment in Lac Megantic, Quebec resulting in the deaths of forty-seven people and a 30 April derailment in Lynchburg, Virginia.
U.S Department of Transportation (DOT) secretary Anthony Foxx has announced that the department is proposing new rules for shipments of high-hazard crude oil by trains, as well as moving to phase out the use of older tank cars that many see as unsafe.
As the Chicago Tribune reports, the department is proposing new speed restrictions on “unit trains,” or those that carry more than twenty tank cars of crude oil at a time. Additionally, there will be further risk assessment of rail routes, and higher standards of testing for crude coming from the Bakken region of southern Canada, North Dakota, and Montana — which often involves controversial extraction methods such as hydraulic fracturing.
Further, the DOT expects the eventual phasing out over three years of DOT-111 tank cars, at least in their current iteration, due to safety worries among some critics and officials.
“Safety is our goal,” said Foxx.
The order follows a deadly year for oil train accidents, including a July 2013 derailment in Lac Megantic, Quebec resulting in the deaths of forty-seven people and a 30 April derailment in Lynchburg, Virginia. Additionally, lawmakers such as Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wasington) have urged federal regulators to better monitor the nearly 400,000 carloads of crude oil per year that are traveling within the country.
As the Tribune mentions, the DOT also released the results of a study revealing that Bakken crude is more volatile than standard due to the hydraulic fracturing process.
Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel applauded the efforts, saying, “Today’s release of the proposed DOT Safe Transportaion of Crude Oil and Flammable Materials rule is another very important step to reduce the risk of catastrophic disasters in our cities.”
The environmental group ForestEthics, however, criticized the recent proposals as “weak” and that they provide the oil industry “a license to threaten the safety of millions of American and leave communities and emergency responders holding the bag.”
The rules follow after a 60-day comment period during which both oil industry and public concerns and input could be expressed.
