BNSF crude oil train derails in Montana

The derailment of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe train spilled more than 35,000 gallons of crude oil just east of Culbertson, Mont., according to an e-mail from DOT official Michael Turnbull.    A Burlington Northern Santa Fe train carrying crude oil derailed last Thursday on the railroad’s main track at Culbertson, Mont., approximately 45 miles west of Williston, N.D.
   BNSF said in a customer advisory note it received a preliminary report of the derailment of its U-TNDAWA0-10 train at 8:05 p.m. EST on July 16, and the main track was subsequently reopened to normal operations at 1:01 a.m. on July 18.
   Despite the track being open to normal traffic, the railway advised customers to continue to expect delays of 48 hours to 72 hours on shipments moving through the corridor.
   According to an e-mail from U.S. Department of Transportation official Michael Turnbull to Montana state officials, the derailment in rural eastern Montana spilled more than 35,000 gallons (132,489 liters) of crude oil and forced the evacuation of about 30 people. The e-mail said BNSF immediately dispatched a hazardous materials team to the scene to contain the spill using earthen dams.
   About 20 of the 106 total loaded cars on the BNSF crude oil train went off the rails, but no injuries and no fire were reported as a result of the incident and the spilled oil reportedly did not reach any waterways.
   Turnbull said in his e-mail that an investigation into the cause of the derailment is already under way.
   Crude oil tank cars have been in the news quite a bit in recent years as the oil sector boom in places like the Bakken region of North Dakota have resulted in an exponential increase in dangerous derailments, which often involve explosions and/or fire due to the highly volatile nature of crude oil.
   Back in March, Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced the Crude-By-Rail Safety Act of 2015 to raise safety standards for trains transporting crude oil after a rash of derailments across the country.
   The legislation would require the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to draft new regulations mitigating the volatility of gases in crude oil shipped via tank car and immediately halt the use of older-model tank cars that have been shown to be at high risk for puncturing and catching fire in derailments.
   Berkshire Hathaway-owned BNSF was sued in federal court earlier that month by the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufactures, who objected to a $1,000-per-unit surcharge the railway charges when moving crude oil in its older DOT-111 tank cars.
   “Every new derailment increases the urgency with which we need to act,” Sen. Cantwell, ranking member on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said at the time. “This legislation will help reduce the risk of explosion in accidents, take unsafe tank cars off the tracks, and ensure first responders have the equipment they need. We can’t afford to wait for 10 accidents per year, as estimated by the Department of Transportation.”