Crude-by-railNew oil trains safety rules short on preparedness, training regs: Critics

New federal safety measures for oil trains announced earlier this month are being criticized by emergency responders who say the measures fail to address the issue of preparedness. Under an emergency order the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued last May, railroads are required to report large shipments of Bakken crude oil to state emergency response commissions, which then disseminated that information to local fire departments. The new rules, which go into effect next year, do not require railroads to notify state officials of Bakken crude oil shipments, and fire departments seeking that information will have to contact the railroads directly.

“These new rules fall short of requiring rail operators to provide the information fire departments need to respond effectively when the call arrives,” said Harold Schaitberger, general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF).

“We need to be prepared for it, and we’re willing to be prepared for it,” said Elizabeth Harman, the IAFF contact for Grants Administration and HazMat/WMD Training Division. She added that firefighters need more training on responding to hazardous materials incidents, but the new rules fail to address that issue. “The training that’s needed has been developed,” she said. “This is the first step that needs to be funded and expanded for all first responders.”

McClatchy D.C. reports that the number of oil trains transporting crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken region to East Coast refineries has increased in recent years. The rail industry and federal government have funded new training for emergency responders as a result of the increased risk. According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), the rail industry trains 2,000 firefighters a year in communities across the country. Since last year, the industry has also sent hundreds of firefighters to an advanced firefighting academy in Pueblo, Colorado, designed for responding to oil train fires.

Firefighter groups have praised the rail industry’s efforts, but 65 percent of fire departments involved in responding to hazardous materials incidents still have no formal training in that area, according to a 2010 survey by the National Fire Protection Association.

DOT spokeswoman Susan Lagana said last Friday that the department was reviewing feedback from emergency responders. She also said the new rules would expand the amount of information available to first responders and noted that for now, last year’s emergency order remains in place.

Ed Greenberg, a spokesman for AAR, said the industry is developing a mobile application called AskRail that would give emergency responders immediate access to information about a train’s cargo. “Freight railroads have ongoing dialogue with first responders, residents and local civic officials on rail operations and emergency planning,” he said.

Last month, fire chiefs in Washington state met with representatives from BNSF regarding receiving more information about routing information, worst-case derailment scenarios, response planning, and insurance coverage. “I think both sides learned a little bit about the other group’s point of view,” said Wayne Senter, the executive director of the Washington Fire Chiefs. “I was pretty positive by the end of the meeting the information we asked for in our letter was either available or will soon be available either directly or indirectly.”