Here
is another oil spill – from just a few days ago
Minnesota
Oil Spill: Canadian Train Derails, Spilling 30,000 Gallons Of Crude
In U.S.
A
mile-long train hauling oil from Canada derailed and leaked 30,000
gallons of crude in western Minnesota on Wednesday, as debate rages
over the environmental risks of transporting tar sands across the
border.
27
March, 2013
The
leak - the first major spill of the modern North American
crude-by-rail transit boom - came when 14 cars on a 94-car Canadian
Pacific train left the tracks about 150 miles north west of
Minneapolis near the town of Parkers Prairie, the Otter Tail
Sheriff's Department said.
Canadian
Pacific Railway Ltd, the country's second-largest railroad, said the
company was investigating the incident. CP Spokesman Ed Greenberg
said only one 26,000-gallon tank car had ruptured, adding it was a
mixed freight train carrying crude and other materials.
The
company did not comment as to what kind of crude the train was
carrying.
But
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency spokesman Dan Olson said up to
three tank cars were ruptured and an estimated 20,000 to 30,000
gallons - or 475 to 715 barrels - leaked out.
Cold
weather had also made the crude thicker, hindering the ability to
recover the oil, Olson said, adding the initial cleanup was expected
to continue for a day or two.
"We
are focusing on drawing up the loose (oil) ... and once that has been
taken up, they will then pump up the remaining oil in the tanks,"
Olson said. "Because of the winter conditions, the ground is
frozen and there is not any damage to surface water or ground water."
A
photo on the website of a local paper, the Duluth News Tribune,
showed two large tank cars lying on either side of the railroad
tracks in snow-covered fields.
The
derailment is the first major spill of the massive expansion of crude
shipment by rail, which has increased rapidly in the last three years
as booming North American oil production has outgrown existing
pipeline capacity.
Canada
is the top exporter of crude to the United States, due to rising
output of crude from its vast tar sands deposits.
Growing
volumes of that oil have crossed the border via train as production
bumps up against pipeline constraints, with around 40,000 barrels per
day (bpd) on average shipped to the United States in 2012, according
to data from Canada's National Energy Board.
Environmentalists
have complained about the impact of developing the reserves, and have
sought to blocked TransCanada Corp's controversial Keystone XL
project, which would carry oil produced from the oil sands to the
U.S. Gulf Coast refining center.
Some
experts have argued oil-by-rail carries a higher risk of accidents
and spills.
"It
is good business for the rails and bad safety for the public,"
said Jim Hall, a transportation consultant and former chairman of the
National Transportation Safety Board.
"Railroads
travel through population centers. The safest form of transport for
this type of product is a pipeline. This accident could - and ought
to - raise the issue for discussion," he added.
Others
note that spills from rail cars are rare, and that delivering crude
by rail has opened up opportunities in recent years for producers to
develop huge volumes of oil production in areas of the United States
that are not connected to markets by pipeline.
"It's
not very good publicity, but railroads are incredibly safe, they
don't spill often," said Tony Hatch, independent transportation
analyst with ABH Consulting in New York who has done work for major
railroads. "It should not change the opportunity railroads have
to make us more energy independent."
Supporters
of the Keystone XL pipeline were quick to jump on the derailment as a
reason to build the line.
"It
should be clear that we need to move more oil by pipeline rather than
by rail or truck," said Don Canton, spokesman for North Dakota
Senator John Hoeven, who has been one of the chief political
proponents of the line. "This is why we need the Keystone XL.
Pipelines are both safe and efficient."
Shipments
of petroleum on U.S. railroads rose more than 46 percent last year to
540,000 carloads, the Association of American Railroads said in
January.
A
spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration said two
representatives of the U.S. rail regulator are investigating the
incident.
The
Otter Tail Sheriff's Department said the train was approximately
5,700 feet in length, or 1.7 kilometers (1.05 miles) long.
"Once
our crews were able to get closer to the rail cars that were involved
in the incident, it was determined that only one had been formally
compromised," Canadian Pacific's Greenberg said. "We have
options to reroute traffic, so we've been able to continue to move
trains while we do the thorough job of cleaning up the area."
He
also said he did not know if the crude oil was from Canada's oil
sands or the originator of the train.
Shares
in Canadian Pacific ended down less than half a percent at C$129.06
on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
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