CSX Corp. has reached a settlement with the federal government and West Virginia, agreeing to pay a $1.2 million civil penalty for a 2015 incident in which a 109-car train it operated that was carrying Bakken Shale crude oil derailed. Twenty-seven of the tank cars, carrying 29,000 gallons of oil each, derailed, caught fire and exploded. West Virginia is to receive $1 million of the civil penalty. The Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency and West Virginia announced the consent decree, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. CSX also agreed to pay $500,000 into a state-administered fund to upgrade a water treatment facility.
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Broken Rail Blamed for WV Derailment; Judge OKs $344M Settlement in Quebec Wreck
Federal regulators said last February’s fiery oil train derailment in West Virginia was caused by a broken rail, and levied $25,000 fines against both CSX and Sperry Rail Service for failing to detect the flaw despite two separate inspections months before the accident.
U.S. Sens. Pushing Fast-Track For Oil Rail Car Phase-Out
A group of U.S. Senate Democrats have introduced a bill that would accelerate the phase-out of older rail cars that transport crude oil by incentivizing the process with a tax credit for companies that make upgrades.
U.S. Sens. Pushing Fast-Track For Oil Rail Car Phase-Out
A group of U.S. Senate Democrats have introduced a bill that would accelerate the phase-out of older rail cars that transport crude oil by incentivizing the process with a tax credit for companies that make upgrades.
PHMSA Proposes Rule to Beef Up Safety of Tanker Traffic
Responding in part to the derailment and explosion of a crude-laden tanker in Quebec in July, the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has proposed a rule aimed at improving the safety of the rail transportation of hazardous materials by tanker cars, as well as the rail transportation of shale oil.
U.S. Oil Rail Shipments in Quandary Following Quebec Derailment
The future of continued robust growth in railing domestic crude oil supplies has come into question following the Quebec oil tanker car derailment in July, but the transporters don’t see a slowing trend longer term.
Industry Briefs
A train derailment near the town of Parkers Prairie, MN, Wednesday morning spilled 20,000-30,000 gallons of crude oil into a field, but frozen, snow-covered ground was “a saving grace” that should keep environmental damage to a minimum, a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) spokesman told NGI’s Shale Daily. Fourteen of the Canadian Pacific Railroad train’s 94 cars derailed and oil from three of them was leaked, the spokesman said. “They’re going to be able to recover most, if not all” of the oil, according to MPCA spokesman Dan Olson. No injuries were reported.
Transportation Notes
Transwestern extended through at least Saturday the force majeureassociated with a freight train derailment near its mainline innorthwest new Mexico (see Daily GPI, Nov. 2). The derailed cars have beenremoved but harsh weather delayed the start of pipe inspection untilFriday, a spokeswoman said. Crews were hoping to restore servicebetween Stations 5 and 6 Sunday, she said. A capacity constraintremained in effect going into the weekend, but it had been reducedfrom 400,000 MMBtu/d to 300,000 MMBtu/d.
Transportation Notes
Transwestern declared force majeure after a freight trainderailed near its mainline in northwest New Mexico. The derailmentoccurred Sunday afternoon but the pipeline did not learn about ituntil Monday morning, according to a spokeswoman. As a precaution,Transwestern immediately took the line out of service betweenStations 5 (Thoreau) and 6 (Laguna). Westbound deliveries from theEast of Thoreau area and eastbound deliveries from San Juan Basinhave been suspended until further notice, affecting about 400,000MMBtu/d, the pipeline said. The line will be inspected and returnedto service once the train cars have been removed, which wasexpected to be completed by late Tuesday afternoon.