Final oil transport study outlines key steps for Legislature

Ecology coordinated with the Utilities and Transportation Com-mission (UTC) and the Washington Military Department’s Emergency Management Division (EMD) to research and compile the report.

The recommendations include enhancing emergency response efforts with planning, training, equipment, and resources; ensuring oil companies and transporters can pay for a spill; and giving more authority to the state to increase rail inspections.

Gov. Jay Inslee’s 2015 proposed legislation would provide needed funding and authority for state agencies to implement key recommendations of the report.

“When I’m talking to people around the state, one issue people always ask me about is what we’re going to do to protect our state from the dangers of transporting crude oil,” said Inslee. “Increasing numbers of oil trains are coming through Washington and this is our opportunity to take reasonable and necessary steps to improve public safety. This is a high priority for Washingtonians, and for me.”

More than 1,000 public comments were collected in response to the draft recommendations. The study team also accepted comments at public meetings in Spokane and Olympia in October 2014. The most frequently heard comments accompany the final report along with the state’s response to common concerns. Top comments addressed:

•Oil trains in Washington. Commenters expressed concerns regarding oil trains moving through The Evergreen State.

•Safe transport of Bakken crude. Concerns were voiced about the volatility and need for stabilization of Bakken crude prior to transport.

•Railroad crossing safety. Increased traffic at railroad crossings and associated delays were a concern for commenters.

Ecology Director Maia D. Bellon said the importance of addressing the issue was recently highlighted again the weekend of Feb. 14 when two separate oil train collisions occurred — one in West Virginia and another in Ontario, Canada.

“Given the recent collisions around the country and in Canada, we can’t afford to be complacent,” Bellon said. “We also know of four separate incidents since December where oil trains were leaking as they traveled through Washington.”

“This report offers sound proposals for improving public safety,” said UTC Chairman Dave Danner. “It’s time now to move forward and make our rail system the safest possible.”

Along with Ecology, UTC, and EMD, contributing agencies to the report include the Federal Railroad Administration and the Washington State Department of Transportation.

The Governor’s 2014 budget provided one-time funding for Ecology to conduct a Marine and Rail Oil Transportation Study. The objective of the study was to analyze the risks to public health and safety, and the environmental impacts associated with the transport of oil in the state of Washington.

The scope of the study focused on the Puget Sound, Grays Harbor, and the Columbia River in the marine portion of the study. The inland portion of the study included the entire oil transportation corridor. The study looked at the current and anticipated transportation pictures for marine and rail, the current and anticipated safety pictures for marine and rail, and existing gaps.

A list of 43 findings and recommendations is discussed in detail in the 569-page report, which can be read online at ecy.wa.gov.

A shorter list of key legislative or budget recommendations that can be acted on quickly are highlighted in the report’s Executive Summary. The 13 recommendations for the state and six for the federal government are prioritized based on the additional protection they provide, their technological achievability, and their cost. Where possible, Ecology noted which actions can be accomplished within current re-sources and which will require additional funding (with an estimated cost or range of costs).