Feds tell railways to inform states of big oil trains, urge stronger cars when hauling Bakken crude

The U.S. Department of Transportation issued an emergency order Wednesday requiring railroads to inform state emergency-management of large crude-oil trains going through their states "and urged shippers not to use older-model tank cars that are easily ruptured in accidents" when hauling more volatile crude from the Bakken Shale region, Joan Lowy reports for The Associated Press. (AP photo by Steve Helber: Crude oil train crash May 1 in Virginia)

The department's voluntary approach toward the old tank cars is unlike that of "its Canadian counterpart," notes Curtis Tate of McClatchy Newspapers. "Transport Canada two weeks ago required a three-year phase-out of older tank cars." In the U.S., the National Transportation Safety Board has warned for years that the cars punctured easily in derailments, leading to spills and fires with flammable liquids. The cars have performed poorly in the past several years in derailments involving ethanol, and more recently crude oil."

Stronger tank-car rules could be coming. Last week the department "sent a package of proposed regulations to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review," Tate notes. "The process can take at least 90 days, and until it’s complete, the details will not be made public." (Read more)

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/05/07/226820/dot-wants-new-rail-rules-for-crude.html?sp=/99/200/328/#storylink=cpy

The order to inform state officials applies to "trains containing more than 1 million gallons of crude oil—the equivalent of about 35 tank cars — from the booming Bakken region of North Dakota, Montana and parts of Canada," Lowy reports. "The order also requires that railroads disclose the volume of oil being transported and how emergency responders can contact 'at least one responsible party' at the railroad." (Read more)

"Until now, railroads were under no obligation to disclose any of that information and provided it only under strict conditions if it was requested," Jad Mouawad reports for The New York Times. (Read more)

More oil was spilled on U.S. railways in 2013 than in the previous 37 years. That doesn't include a crude oil derailment in Quebec 10 miles from Maine that killed 47 people. The train originated in North Dakota and was headed to Maine.