Derailment

Rail corridor along the Mohawk River poses a special risk in the watershed

Jan 21, 2020

The Mohawk Valley has been a corridor for rail lines for nearly 200 years. A major concern is train derailments, especially now when a considerable amount of crude oil is being transported along the river. I drive to work along the Mohawk every day and the amount of freight carried on the CSX and CP lines along the river is amazing. But I always pause when I see the oil trains moving along the edge of the Mohawk. What if there is a derailment and oil spill? Is emergency response ready to deploy adsorbent booms in the Mohawk when the river is partially frozen?

Issues with crude oil transport in NY State came to the forefront of the news cycle between 2013 and 2015 (see 23, 25) (“Further reading” now indicated by numbers in parentheses). This was the time between the Lac-Mégantic disaster and the 2015 FAST Act passed by Congress to enhance transportation safety. There is a good reason for the intensity of this period: it coincided with the substantial increase in volatile Bakken crude oil moving on rail transport – much of it through NY State – and an increase in high-profile derailments that resulted in explosions of oil-laden rail cars. What emerged was a number of new regulations aimed at improving the safety of oil tank cars, but many of these these safety measures were costly. Soon after passage of the 2015 FAST Act there was a rapid drop in oil transport (and Bakken Production), which then reached a low point in 2017. Since 2017, however, rollback of these regulatory efforts has unfortunately coincided with a substantial increase in production and shipment of crude oil by rail. So in an odd twist we are now in about the same position in volume of shipments as we were during the events of 2013-2015.

The first railroad in NY was the Mohawk and Hudson, which opened in 1831 in part to bypass the locks on the lower Mohawk River (15) (see “Further reading”). The Utica and Schenectady railroad was chartered in 1833, service began in 1836, freight transport with no restrictions was permitted in 1847, and thus it could compete with the Erie Canal (16).

Fast-forward to today and the lower part of the Mohawk is crossed by so many rail lines that it looks like a spider web on a map. One of the prominent rail lines that transects the entire Mohawk corridor is the CSX line, which is also used by Amtrak.

Ever since there have been railroads in the Mohawk Watershed, there have been train derailments. The most deadly derailment in the history of the Mohawk Watershed occurred on 11:33 PM on 20 April 1940 when the Lake Shore limited of the NY Central Railroad jumped the track at the Gulf Curve near Little Falls. The derailment involved 13 cars including the locomotive, a baggage car and 11 of 13 sleeping cars. The locomotive crashed into a cliff and the other cars followed (1). Thirty-one people died in this derailment, and over 70 were injured.

At the time, the Little Falls Gulf Curve crash of 1940 was called one of the most spectacular and disastrous wrecks in eastern railroad history. The accident occurred on the tight, sharp Gulf Curve where the trains needed to negotiate a 7° bend. Forensics after the crash revealed that the train was going too fast: the speedometer tape showed that the train was traveling 59 mph, well above the 45 mph limit at the time (2). At the coroner’s inquest it was revealed that the engineer failed to slow in time, but did apply the brakes (3). The train was late leaving Albany and then travelled at speeds to 75 to 76 mph in the time before the crash. A wreck had occurred at the same site - the Gulf curve - in 1903 in which a three-car derailment resulted in two fatalities. Since the 1940 derailment, part of the Mohawk was filled in to reduce the curvature (clearly visible on GoogleEarth).

A derailment of a Conrail train in Montgomery County occurred in January 1999 near the town of Nelliston (across the river from Fort Plain - see map below), and this accident resulted in closure of I-90 and evacuation on 150 people to the Fort Plain High School because the derailed train was carrying propane and acid (17). The 141-car freight train was traveling from Niagara Falls to Selkirk and derailment involved 33 freight cars, 20 of them containing hazardous material.

The most recent significant derailment occurred in June 2013 when two CSX freight trains collided and 45 cars and four engines derailed. The derailment occurred adjacent to Rt. 5 just west of Fonda (also Montgomery County at milepost 189). Both freight trains were carrying hazardous materials and the derailment resulted in damage of $2.4 million (6). Hazmat crews were on the scene and absorbent booms were were put in the Mohawk River because there was an initial concern that chemicals would leak from ruptured tank cars into the river (23). Accident report 000117799 from the Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety Analysis (24) notes in the accident narrative: “Operated past a signal requiring stop at CP188 without permission.” In other words, one train ran a red light. Simple errors can have disastrous consequences.

A Moving pipeline - 2020. Westbound CSX train with oil cars along the Mohawk River in January 2020. Route 5 in foreground, and the Mohawk River in the background This train is in western Schenectady County, just west of Amsterdam NY (Photo: JI Garver, January 2020).

CSX owns one of the primary rail lines along the Mohawk River and this line is also used (leased) by Amtrak. The CSX freight trains include oil cars and tank cars that carry other hazardous materials. While there is nothing fundamentally wrong with this activity, there are potential issues with oil and other hazardous materials if a derailment results in catastrophic spills into the Mohawk. For example, in 2007 a CSX trail carrying liquid propane derailed and exploded near Oneida in central NY (outside of the Mohawk Watershed). In this accident, 25 of 79 rail cars derailed and 5 cars loaded with liquid propane ignited and exploded (14).

Rail lines tightly hug the Mohawk River in the central and lower Mohawk valley due to inherited post-glacial topography. With no room to spread out, tracks parallel the River and thus derailment of hazardous tank cars may involve spills in the Mohawk.

Between about 2012 and 2013 the nature of freight on the rail lines started to change because greater volumes of crude oil were being transported on railroads in NY, and one of the main transportation routes runs the length of the Mohawk Watershed. A substantial fraction of this oil was the highly volatile crude oil from the Bakken field, found primarily in North Dakota. The oil was bound for refineries and much of it was transported on or along the Hudson River, and thus has been a special concern for Riverkeeper.

Production in the Bakken Shale in North Dakota has continued to increase since intense exploitation began over a decade ago (7). The field was essentially re-discovered in 2008 after a US Geological Survey study was released and by 2010 the field was producing 0.46 million barrels of crude oil per day. In mid-2019 oil production reached 1.44 million barrels per day, and in January 2020 production is projected to be 1.55 million barrels per day (9), the highest this field has ever produced. The average price of Bakken sweet crude was between $44 and $61 per barrel in 2019 (10) - well above the break-even price. Oil output is higher then the sparse pipelines in that area can handle, hence trains are used to move the crude oil to refineries. The field has 15,943 producing wells (7) and the current rig count, which is high, would indicate that the strong growth will continue (9).

Production from the Bakken region from the Drilling Productivity Report (2019) from the Energy Information Agency (EIA - black line: million barrels per day). A fraction of this oil is transported by rail cars traveling on tracks that run parallel to the Mohawk River. White dotted line is total monthly transport of crude oil by train in the US (right axis). Figure modified from the reports.

The Devonian-Mississippian Bakken Shale is an oil- and gas-bearing unit in the Williston Basin of North Dakota, Montana, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. Over a decade ago a report from the US Geological Survey suggested that the unit has recoverable reserves of 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels (some estimates are much higher), and exploitation was possible and economic by hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” (5, 8). Although the oil is expensive to produce, it is still economic to exploit this resource and ship the crude oil across the country by train for refining. While this activity has been ongoing for some time, we still need to consider the effects this transport may have on our watersheds.

Between 2010 and 2014 the amount of oil shipped by train out of the Bakken field increased dramatically, and these trains were coming across the US and Canada, with many traversing NY State. The Lac-Mégantic rail disaster on 6 July 2013 was a tragic event that marked a turning point in oil transport by train because the disaster revealed how volatile the Bakken crude oil is and how damaging derailments can be. A 74-car freight train carrying Bakken crude oil derailed, ignited, and exploded, killing 47 people and leveling part of the town. Involved in the disaster were 72 DOT-111 tank cars, each with 30,000 gallons of crude oil. Approximately 22,000 gallons of oil spilled in the Chaudière River, forcing local closure of water intakes (13).

Following the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster, NY Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order 125 in January of 2014 (20). This executive order directed the DEC, DOT, DHSES, DOH, and NYSERDA to strengthen the State's oversight of shipments of petroleum products, including the volatile oil from the Bakken field. The order partly focussed on safety issues and included a request for investigations to “…upgrade tanker car and rail line safety, assess federal agency needs and risks, and pre-deploy appropriate spill response equipment and resources to protect New York States communities, residents, land, and waterways from accidents involving the transportation of crude oil and other petroleum products by rail, ship, and barge.”

A summary of progress on Executive Order 125 was issued in December of 2014 (21). In that summary, it is noted that: “The federal government is vested with exclusive statutory and regulatory authority over the interstate transportation of crude oil. Therefore, it is incumbent on the federal government to match the State’s aggressive commitment to protecting New Yorkers affected by the sharp expansion of this industry.”

At the time of Executive Order 125, rail transport of crude oil in the US was ~20,000,000 to 30,000,000 barrels per month, near maximum. From 2014 to 2017 transport fell dramatically. By July 2017 rail transport of crude oil in the US fell to a low of just over 8,000,000 barrels per month, but by 2019 the maximum monthly total of ~24,000,000 barrels a month (11). The sharp increase in crude oil transport since late 2017 has renewed concern about transport safety.

Canadian Pacific Spill response in the Mohawk Valley in April 2015, here at SUNY Schenectady County Community College on the lower Mohawk River (JI Garver, 4/2015).

What is being done to ensure the safety of oil-transport trains, especially considering the increase in transport of volatile crude oil? What do we need to consider for watershed protection? It would appear that rollbacks of recent regulations – some of which stemmed from disasters like Lac Mégantic - are currently taking us in the wrong direction.

In October 2018, NY Senator Chuck Schumer called on the Department of Transportation to reverse a decision that eliminated the requirement that oil tanker cars must have Electronically Controlled Pneumatic brakes (ECP brakes) – a requirement from a provision in the Fixing America’s Surface Transport (FAST) Act that was passed in Congress in 2015. These brakes are known to reduce derailments and spills. In a speech given at the site of the 2013 derailment in Fonda NY, Senator Schumer noted (in 2018):

The Montgomery County accident in 2013 [on the Mohawk River], reminds us accidents can and do occur along this main line, shows exactly why the safest available Electronically Controlled Pneumatic brake system is so important, and that is why the federal DOT and PHMSA should reverse course and reinstate this vital safety rule.
Every day across Upstate New York, unit trains of up to 80 tank cars of crude oil or ethanol pass through backyards and by schools and homes and near places of business, putting communities at risk if tank cars derail or puncture. It is clear to me that we need an all-of-the-above approach to safety, so I am urging the DOT to reverse course and require freight carriers to equip their trains with Electronically Controlled Pneumatic brake systems. Tragic accidents across the country, and even right here in Fonda, demonstrate clearly the need of installing the latest and most effective braking systems on all trains carrying highly explosive crude oil and ethanol (6)

The press release from Senator Schumer’s office notes that there have been issues with the rail transport of crude oil, ethanol, and other hazardous material for years. In the last decade there has been surge of the volume of crude oil transported by rail largely due to the enormous increase in production in North Dakota.

In the past few years the volume of oil shipped by rail has increased throughout the northeastern US as domestic production of Bakken crude oil from North Dakota has increased. In his October 2018 speech, Senator Schumer said: “unit trains of up to 80 cars of crude oil routinely travel across the state on the CSX line from Erie, PA to Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Amsterdam, before cutting southeast to Selkirk, and then down the west shore of the Hudson River through Kingston and Newburgh and into New Jersey.”

In October of 2019, the Attorneys General of New York, California, New Jersey, and Maryland wrote in support of a Washington State law that limits the volatility of oil transported by trains (11). The move by Washington State to limit volatility in tanker cars is opposed by producing states (ND, MT) who argue that regulation should be federal (11).

The issue here is whether the states have the right to regulate material transported by rail or whether the Federal government has sole regulatory authority. NY Attorney General Letitia James wrote the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on October 23 2019 on behalf of the four-state coalition (12).

Our states strongly support the need for protective standards on crude-by-rail, and as PHMSA is aware, several of us have advocated for just such a standard for years. However, in the face of PHMSA’s failure to adopt such a standard, even on an interim basis, it is entirely appropriate for states to take reasonable and necessary measures to protect communities, first responders, businesses and natural resources within our borders.
The petition chronicles the well-publicized history of high-intensity fires and violent explosions that resulted from accidents and derailments of unit trains shipping crude oil from the Bakken Shale on rail lines across the country.

At its core, the letter challenges recent rollbacks in safety standards for high-hazard flammable trains. These rollbacks include withdrawal of the multiple-crew rule that requires a minimum number on a train crew. It also includes the elimination of the requirement for Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) braking systems (advocated by Senator Schumer) that are thought to result in a reduction of derailment and puncturing of oil-laden train cars (12).

The letter also notes that current law does not require the phase-out of DOT-111 and CPC-1232 cars until 2025, and there is concern that this might get pushed back to 2027. The 2015 FAST act required a new design that is reinforced and they have improved crash-worthiness (the new tank cars would follow the M-251 design - see 19).

After reading the letter one concludes that little has been done to increase the safety of these trains - especially considering the rollback of standards and targets set in the 2015 FAST act.

The consensus of the group of four states is that the approach by Washington State is appropriate and if there is no federal limit on the volatility of oil in tank cars, then state restrictions are appropriate. Thus these four other states (NY, CA, NJ, and MD) believe they have the authority to limit the volatility of crude oil shipped within their state. Attorney General James concludes:

Protecting the health and safety of our citizens, first responders, and environment are of paramount concern to our states. As PHMSA has given no indication that it will address the volatility of crude oil from the Bakken Shale, it is appropriate for states to fill this regulatory void by adopting their own protective standards consistent with the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

We are in a new period of expansion of transportation of hydrocarbons by rail. Justin Mikulka, who wrote Bomb Trains: How Industry Greed and Regulatory Failure Put the Public at Risk, notes in a recent post on Desmog (22).

As 2019 drew to a close and the new year ramps up, a number of signs point to the growing risks of transporting oil and gas by rail, with little government oversight to speak of: from increasing oil train traffic into the U.S. to fiery oil train derailments and new approvals for moving liquefied natural gas (LNG) by rail.

Clearly this issue is not resolved. We appear to be heading into a new period of increasing volumes of crude oil being transported by rail - a worrying development for watershed protection. Meanwhile, the trains keep rolling along the banks of the Mohawk, perhaps giving new meaning to “drums along the Mohawk.”

This and other Notes from a Watershed are available at: https://mohawk.substack.com/

Notes from a Watershed - The Mohawk River

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Notes from a Watershed - The Mohawk River

Derailment

Rail corridor along the Mohawk River poses a special risk in the watershed

Further Reading

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