Riverkeeper Fellow Crude Oil Transportation Update at Vassar College
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This document discusses the threats posed by the transport of crude oil on and along the Hudson River, including by rail and barge. It notes that federal regulators expect at least 10 major derailments of crude oil trains per year nationally. It also highlights concerns about the safety of aging rail infrastructure and deficiencies in bridge inspection programs. The document calls for immediate action to strengthen regulations to better protect communities and the environment from risks of oil spills or explosions.
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Riverkeeper Fellow Crude Oil Transportation Update at Vassar College
- 1. Jeremy Cherson, Riverkeeper Fellow outreach@riverkeeper.org Crude Oil Transport on the Hudson Photo: Waterkeeper Alliance
- 2. Masters Thesis: Crude Oil by Rail Tank Car Design and Track Inspection Programs
- 3. Protects the Hudson River watershed and safeguards the drinking water of 9 million New Yorkers.
- 4. “The transport of crude oil on and along the Hudson River presents a grave threat—the most significant new threat we’ve faced in a generation." – Paul Gallay, Riverkeeper President $4.7B Tourism 40Significant habitats 100k Hudson Valley Residents Drinking Water
- 5. ~2 Daily 3M Gallons Weekly 8M Gallons Daily 4M Gallons
- 8. “How big is six city blocks for you guys?” – Fire Chief Tim Pellerin of Rangley, Maine $1b+ Innocent Lives Lost 47
- 9. “More than 25 million Americans live within a mile of a railroad track that could be hauling explosive crude oil…” – Matt Krogh, ForestEthics EcoWatch, 2015 Photo: New York Times Sources: Energy Information Administration, BNSF, Canadian Pacific, CSX Graphics By Guilbert Gates and Joe Burgess
- 10. “Albany Nears Oil-Hub Status as 100- Car Trains Jam Port” –Caelainn Bar, Bloomberg Business Photo: Mike Groll/ AP Photo
- 11. “Many train bridges across the region are deteriorating, including two in Cornwall where the concrete foundation has eroded, vertical cracks have emerged, rebar has become exposed, and bolts have become loose or have fallen off altogether.” – Senator Charles Schumer
- 12. Crude oils are not created equal Photo: Ben Garvin Photo: DOI Bakken Oil 20-25% Tar Sands 0-5% Recovery
- 13. “Federal regulators have told us to expect at least 10 major derailments of crude oil trains a year” — Kate Hudson, Riverkeeper, Director of Special Projects
- 14. “Federal regulators have told us to expect at least 10 major derailments of crude oil trains a year” — Kate Hudson, Riverkeeper, Director of Special Projects 1.1m gallons spilled 2013 Unfit for Service in NYS 4,000% 82%
- 15. CSX, which owns the bridges, is left mostly to police itself. Like all rail companies, CSX files a one-sentence letter to the state and feds stating that all their bridges have been inspected and determined to be safe. – Jim Hoffer, Emmy Award Winning ABC 7 Investigative Reporter NYS Bridge Inspection Audit, 2013 2651 Bridges No last Inspection Date Monitoring & Enforcement Bridge Inspection Certificates
- 16. “How long will the Hudson Valley be forced to play this deadly game of Russian roulette?” — Captain John Lipscomb, Riverkeeper 97Defects & HAZMAT Violations, March 2015 New State Inspectors 1 FRA NYS Bridges +13 States
- 17. “We deserve real protection for communities and the environment—not a rule that defers to the rail and oil industries at every turn.” —Paul Gallay, President Hudson Riverkeeper EcoWatch, 2015 9,718 Actions Taken
- 18. “I'm writing to you today to urge immediate, concrete, and substantial action to protect the public, our environment, and our economy from the very real and ongoing threat of crude oil transportation along railways.” bit.ly/1hBhxw Sincerely, [you]
- 19. “A spill may also seriously damage Hudson Valley tourism, as well as place a substantial burden on communities that draw drinking water from the Hudson River.” –Paul Kirby, The Daily Freeman 75,000 Poughkeepsie 12,288 Hyde Park 5,300 Rhinebeck 5,000 Highland 4,500 Port Ewen
- 20. Weekly 8M Gallons “NYS has already granted permits for two oil terminals in Albany…to transfer 2.8 billion gallons of crude oil from train to barge and ship with no comprehensive environmental impact study…” – Dan Shapley, Water Quality Program Manager, Riverkeeper Risk Hudson Valley Residents Drinking Water
- 21. Photo: The Advocate…the first tanker laden with Bakken crude—carrying as much oil as was spilled by the Exxon Valdez—ran aground and ruptured its outer hull six miles south of Albany… – Riverkeeper Letter to Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck, Hyde Park, Highland, & Port Ewen December, 2012 12m Gallons
- 22. Photo: The Advocate Gerald Herbert / AP Melissa Phillip/AP 168,000 Gallons Heavy Crude Photo: Melissa Philip/ Associated Press
- 23. “Pick Your Poison for Crude– Pipeline, Rail, Truck or Boat” –James Conca, Forbes
- 24. “When we look at the modes of transportation, our industry – the oil and gas industry – we take an ‘all of the above’ approach.” – Robin Rorick, American Petroleum Institute Eminent Domain>
- 25. Photo Andre J. Jackson/ MCT; Data, PHMSA A pipeline spill of more than 800,000 gallons of heavy crude affected 35 miles of the Kalamazoo River in Michigan, and hasn't been fully remediated four years later, despite a cleanup effort that has cost more than $1.21 billion. – Riverkeeper 865,200 Gallons Spilled Tioga, ND September, 2013 50,400 Gallons Spilled Yellowstone River January, 2015 4m Gallons Spilled Yearly (National Average)
- 26. "We are being told by all these agencies, 'Don't worry. Trust us’… And yet we have all these examples of disasters occurring when trains derail and pipelines burst… – Riverkeeper Captain John Lipscomb, Poughkeepsie Journal What can we do?
- 27. City of Newburgh Hyde Park Cornwall Philipstown Cold Spring City of Albany Ulster County Rockland County Orange County Putnam- Pending “Resolution from the Town of Philipstown’s town board expressing concerns about the transportation of crude oil by rail, barge and ship and calling upon Federal and [New York] State agencies to enact stringent rules and regulations for such transport..” –Philipstown Resolution, March 2015
- 28. Demand Rail Safety Now! Champion Local Resolutions Share at #RvKcrude Visit riverkeeper.org/crude to learn more and take action. April 8 Riverkeeper Ambassador 101 Webinar bit.ly/1P31tPC
Editor's Notes
- Poll the audience: 1. Custom Blog post riverkeeper.org/vassar designed for immediate audience action on the issue. With ready made tools including cues to social media sharing of facts and actions
- How do we get ourselves from where we are now to where we want to be The governor and the state has to power to change things, how do I show people, we succeded with fracking, we will succeed with this - the governor has the power to issue an emergency order Local Economies At Risk Tourism: $4.7 billion industry Public and private investments in waterfront revitalization, public access and water/sewer infrastructure Real estate Recreation (fishing, sailing, kayaking, swimming)
- 1 tanker/week from Buckeye Partners Albany terminal Up to 6.3 billion gallons shipped Per Year ~10 million gallons per day Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons (NOAA)
- 1 tanker/week from Buckeye Partners Albany terminal Up to 6.3 billion gallons shipped Per Year ~10 million gallons per day Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons (NOAA)
- 1 tanker/week from Buckeye Partners Albany terminal Up to 6.3 billion gallons shipped Per Year ~10 million gallons per day Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons (NOAA)
- Preliminary indications are that track infrastructure failures may have played a role in each of the Gogama accidents and a 3rd accident that involved a mixed manifest train on the Ruel Subdivision near Minnipuka, Ontario on 5 March 2015. Petroleum crude oil unit trains transporting heavily-loaded tank cars will tend to impart higher than usual forces to the track infrastructure during their operation. These higher forces expose any weaknesses that may be present in the track structure, making the track more susceptible to failure. http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/enquetes-investigations/rail/2015/r15h0021/r15h0021.asp Put funds next to each other Add photo dates
- Global Partners application to install boilers to transfer heavy crude oil Buckeye Partners vision for Albany and the Hudson River as key virtual pipeline between Canadian tar sands and BORCO terminal in the Bahamas Watch: http://7online.com/447890/ New York State has already granted permits for two oil terminals in Albany owned by Global Partners LP and Buckeye Partners LP to transfer 2.8 billion gallons of crude oil from train to barge and ship with no comprehensive environmental impact study under the State Environmental Quality Review Act. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-07-24/albany-nears-oil-hub-status-as-100-car-trains-jam-port Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy proposed legislation yesterday requiring railroad operators to report local spills within 30 minutes or risk a $250,000 fine and as much as a year in jail. County officials weren’t notified in June after Global Partners alerted state and federal governments about a spill at the port, McCoy said in a statement. Buckeye, based in Houston, received state officials’ approval in 2013 to almost double annual capacity in Albany to 1 billion gallons of crude, and Global Partners was cleared to expand to 1.8 billion gallons a year, up from 450 million.
- http://7online.com/news/inspection-finds-several-defects-with-crude-oil-tank-cars-rails-through-new-york/561887/ More than 100 years for the bridges in cornwall The federal budget is $1million and doubling that could add 7 additional federal inspectors to the program to significantly reduce the caseload "There are real threats to New York communities if an oil train derails and the state doesn't have the money to rapidly respond and properly clean it up,” – NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli (Capital New York, March 19)
- Spill response professional for NOAA say finding pockets of heavy crude oil can be impossible, as existing methods for tracking spills are not effective for tracking non floating oils. Even if found options for containment are limited because they mix with the water column. National Research Council Report on Nonfloating oils Characteristics of the Hudson make clean up difficult Heavy tidal exchange Shifting shoals Narrow navigation channels With strong, multi-directional currents, heavy oils are more likely to remain suspended in the water column or sink to the bottom of the River. Habitat diversity, meaning a range of salinity and brackish to freshland water for complicate any oil spill response effort, thus reducing the effectiveness of a response Ice, like we had this winter would present a significant challenge and a spill could travel several miles under the ice Heavy Crudes Contain higher levels of toxic pollutants than other forms of oil. Often high in polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH’s), which are the primary source of both acute and chronic toxicity to aquatic organisms- National Research Council Committee on Marine Transportation of Heavy Oils Alberta tar sands, according to a 2007 US Geological Survey report contains 11 times more sulfur, 6 times more nitrogen, 11 times more nickel, and five times more lead than conventional oil Diltbit Corosive, aciditc and potentially unstable blend of thick raw bitument and volatile natural gas liquid condensate Chemicals in dilbit render it more likely to ignite and explode than conventional crude, also more hazardous, when exploding could release the Toxic inhilation hazard of hydrogen sulfide, causing suffication Once released into the marine environ
- 4000% increase according to California Senate Estimates Add dates: Aliceville, Alabama RE: Freedom of Information Law Request FMO-14-011478 Annual reports, inventories, Plans, inspections and communications between DOT and FRA NYS Railroad Bridge Infrastructure (NTSB, 1991; (TSB, 2015)
- 4000% increase according to California Senate Estimates Add dates: Aliceville, Alabama RE: Freedom of Information Law Request FMO-14-011478 Annual reports, inventories, Plans, inspections and communications between DOT and FRA NYS Railroad Bridge Infrastructure (NTSB, 1991; (TSB, 2015)
- http://7online.com/news/eyewitness-news-investigation-finds-bridges-in-apparent-disrepair/447890/ $15 million increase in the fund cap to $40 million proposed by the Executive and Assembly budgets could and should be increased. In today’s dollars, the $25 million fund created in 1977 would be a $96.4 million fund today. Thus, we urge that the fund cap be increased to $100 million
- A 2013 Comtroller Audit found that the Department of Transportation does not sufficiently monitor whether railroads comply with bridge inspection and reporting requirementd Around 3000 bridges with no inventory or up-to-date reviewed bridge management plans On top of that some bridge management plans weren’t even submitted Avg age of bridge management plans was 10 years with a range between 1-25 Department had no procedures to followup with the rail bridge management plans
- December 2013 – Train Derailment of Bakken Crude Oil Thousands of residents were evacuated from a 5-mile radius - Letter writing images, find a compelling picture when people write letters together. Find something from the fracking campaign that shows we can do it.
- Add an image without the train- or show a picture with children enjoying the river.
- Picture of drinking water Poughkeepsie – 75,000 (city, town and other neighboring towns) Hyde Park – 12,288 (including Harbourd Hills and Staatsburg water districts) Rhinebeck – 5,300 Highland – 5,000 Port Ewen – 4,500 Major industries also at risk – IBM, power plants, and others. http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-news/20140405/shipments-of-crude-oil-on-hudson-river-alarm-environmentalists-but-oil-industry-envisions-job-growth
- Mississippi River, Feb. 2014 Barge-on-Barge Collision, Bakken Crude Oil Spill 65 miles of river closed 34,000 gallons spilled/95 gallons recovered. Galveston Bay, March 2014 Barge-on-Ship Collision Bunker Fuel Oil Spill 168,000 gallons of oil spilled
- Permits Required DEC wetlands, 401 Certification Army Corps 404 – dredging, stream crossing, wetland disturbance CZMA Coastal Consistency – (Army Corps, DOS) The Permitting Process Need for full EIS under NEPA/SEQRA in all permitting proceedings. Full review would require impact of pipeline transport of oil on climate change/ GHG emissions. Federal permits – need for ESA consultation if endangered species or their habitat is affected. Construction across key waterbodies including important tributaries to the Hudson River (Esopus, Rondout, Sawkill and Plattekill Creeks and the Wallkill River) Disturbance of federal and potentially state wetlands Stormwater impacts due to vegetation removal Potential impairment of sensitive aquifers on which residents depend for drinking water Crossing of Delaware and Catskill aqueducts that supply drinking water to more than 9 million New Yorkers Disturbance of critical wildlife habitat Negative impacts to property values Glendive, Montana Jan 2015 – Pipeline breach spilled 50,400 gallons of crude oil into the Yellowstone River, contaminating drinking supplies. At time of rupture, 110 feet of pipeline lay uncovered on the bottom of the river, exposing it to damage. Three and a half years before it was 8 feet under the river. http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-news/20150207/critics-say-proposed-oil-pipeline-along-new-york-state-thruway-presents-bigger-danger-than-rail-barge-transport
- Estimated 20% of the spill remains unrecovered. Up to 331 people reported adverse heath effects including nausea, respiratory distress, and headaches- although non required hospitalization Fined $3.7 million by USDOT and a classaction lawsuit won $6.75 million to affected communities - http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/12/11/3602287/enbridge-michigan-oil-spill-settlement/ Pipeline spills are inevitable (Pick your Poison for Crude - Pipeline, Rail, Truck or Boat Forbes, April 2014). - Pipeline spills release much larger amounts of oil than spills from any other mode of transport. From 2004 to 2012, pipelines spilled three times the oil that oil trains did over the same period (PHMSA). -The 10 year average (2004-2013) is 631 pipeline incidents per year with 97,263 barrels (over 4 million gallons) per year spilled resulting in $494 million per year in property damage (PHMSA).
- A Bakken oil train explosion and fire in North Dakota in 2013 required an evacuation in a 5-mile radius. Toxic smoke from a similar oil train derailment and explosion in Orange County, carried west to east on the Hudson’s prevailing winds, could force evacuation of communities in Putnam County.
- Spill risk for barges are actually 10 times higher – Non-floating oils paper
- Environmental review before expansion of crude oil terminals Tougher rail safety regulations and independent inspections Increase NYS spill fund & Raise Spill Liability caps to the federal maximum Municipalities speaking out Hudson River At Risk Spawning fish habitat critical to Atlantic populations, many of which already endangered or depleted 40 state-designated significant habitats deemed “irreplaceable” Billions invested in toxic cleanup, public access and community waterfronts