Dear Alderman Cardenas and Office of Emergency Management:

Workers, citizens, and public officials in our state, as elsewhere in North America, have become increasingly concerned about the new risks of crude oil by rail [CBR] cargoes, the transportation of which is rapidly growing in Illinois.  This has become even more urgent with the news at the beginning of the year that the industry itself estimates around 10 oil train accidents in this country every year.  And we now know that over 40 oil trains pass through Chicagoland every week and that Chicago is a hub for rail traffic in the country.  If an accident like this occurred in Chicago, the results would be devastating.  Are we prepared for this occurrence?

What we are dealing with is a railroad industry that for too long has been a largely self-governing and self-regulating entity.  Outside observers have pointed out problems with this industry and its regulators, specifically:

• Too few government inspectors. The railroad agency has only 76 track inspectors, assisted by a few dozen state inspectors, to oversee the operations of some 780 railroad companies that manage 140,000 miles of track, plus railroad bridges. By its own estimate the agency can inspect less than 1 percent of the railroad activities under its oversight each year.
• Little oversight of railroad bridges. The FRA has set no engineering standards for railroad bridges, relying almost entirely on individual railroads to inspect, maintain and repair their own bridges and trestles, some of them built more than a century ago. The agency doesn’t keep an inventory or even a count of the bridges, estimated to number between 70,000 and 100,000.
• Secrecy. State and local governments can’t independently assess the condition of local rail infrastructure because their inspectors don’t have access to the railroads’ design and maintenance records, or to the tracks, trestles and bridges themselves. The railroads consider such information proprietary; the tracks and bridges are their private property and disclosure of those materials is voluntary.​
• Meager penalties. Fines are low, on the theory that the cost and consequences of an accident are sufficient incentive for railroads to properly maintain their tracks and bridges. In 2013, the FRA issued $13.9 million in fines to an industry whose top-seven revenue gainers alone took in nearly $84 billion.

According to Federal track safety standards, 19 out of 24 crossties can be defective and the track still considered safe.¹

Not only is the transport of oil and crude oil by train unsafe, it is an industry that should be heavily discouraged.  The industry’s consistent claim is that our country needs tar sands oil and fracked gas with an ever-increasing demand and that securing the resources from Alberta, Canada and North Dakota is imperative for the energy security of our country.  This mindset allows such atrocities as the use of eminent domain by corporations, leaving large tracts of poisoned wasteland in the aftermath of fracking and tar sand extraction activities, rubber stamped approvals of pipelines and rail cars over countless miles of rivers, lakes, aquifers, wetlands, farmlands, and communities without proper worst-case analysis, and the constant postponement of advancement in the energy sector towards truly sustainable solutions.

It is true that in the present time there is a large demand for oil.  However, that is because the current infrastructure and public consumables are all based on oil.  If oil became scarcer or more costly, the infrastructure would naturally change to adapt, and other solutions such as electric cars, wind power, and alternative means of production would naturally fall into place through normal, unaltered market mechanisms and the necessary help of a participating, knowledgeable government helped by the people it governs.  It is widely known that 97% of climate scientists agree that climate warming is driven by carbon and methane emissions that are man-made, and it is also plain to see that this is directly caused mainly by our fossil fuel based economy. ²

The government must step in immediately and begin the conversion to clean energy.  Many scientists agree that there are few years left to start on this conversion before we are in danger of reaching a global tipping point due to the changing climate.  Some effects are already occurring: affecting crop yields and drastically affecting food production,³ larger number of wildfires and hurricanes, rising sea levels, and “changes in

¹ Marcus Stern and Sebastian Jones.  “Boom: North America’s Explosive Oil-by-Rail Problem.”  Web: http://books.insideclimatenews.org/boom.

² Lindsay Abrams. “WSJ’s shameful climate denial: The scientific consensus is not a myth”.  Salon.  Web: http://www.salon.com/2014/05/28/wsjs_shameful_climate_denial_the_scientific_consensus_is_not_a_myth/

³ Brad Plumer.  “Is there still time left to avoid 2⁰ C of global warming?  Yes, but barely.”  Nov 30, 2012 Washington Post.  Web: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/11/30/is-there-still-time-left-to-stop-global-warming-yes-but-only-barely and Brad Plumer.  “We’re on pace for 4⁰ C of global warming.  Here’s why that terrifies the World Bank.” Nov 19, 2012 Washington Post.  Web: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/11/19/were-on-pace-for-4c-of-global-warming-heres-why-the-world-bank-is-terrified.

ocean temperatures and acidity…could reach a threshold that would precipitate a crash in coral reef ecosystems….these are going to happen eventually if greenhouse gases,

the worst-case tipping point scenarios, but that window of opportunity will only be open for another few years if we continue to change climate at the rate we have been.”⁴

By allowing the rail industry to continue this unsafe practice, we are at great risk of major catastrophe to the people of Chicago as well as continuing the illusion of profitability in this anachronistic industry.  We wish to find ways to bring this practice under control; to make it safer at least and to cause less harm and damage to our people.

“The rail industry is concerned making crude oil route information public elevates security risks by making it easier for someone intent on causing harm,” said American Association of Railroads spokesman Ed Greenberg recently.

This justification for covering up potential catastrophes was refuted by Sidney Casperson, former Director, NJ Office of Counterterrorism, who said, “The terrorists already know what’s out there. They have been found with blueprints of our buildings, and a lot of information is available over the Internet or at a public library.  The only question is whether we will find a way to protect these targets before they find a way to attack them.”

Similarly, crude oil trains are easy for anyone of ill will to track down. The chemical contents of each tank car are identified with four prominently placed placards, yet few residents realize the new hazards passing through their community or know how to respond to a disaster. “

If you don’t share this information, how are people supposed to know what they are supposed to do when another Lac-Mégantic happens?” asked Denise Krepp, a former senior counsel to the congressional Homeland Security Committee, referring to the Bakken crude oil derailment in Quebec that killed 47 people.⁵

⁴ Robert Sanders. “Report warns of climate change ‘tipping points’ within our lifetime.” Dec 3, 2013 UC Berkeley News Center.  Web: http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/12/03/report-warns-of-climate-change-tipping-points-within-our-lifetime.

5 The quotes in the preceding 4 paragraphs can be found in New Jersey Work Environment Council. “Danger in the Dark: How Gov. Christie Helps Oil, Chemical, and Railroad Companies Cover Up Potential Catastrophes.”  Web: www.njwec.org/PDF/Reports/FINAL_DangerintheDark_Report.pdf.

The New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC) is a statewide, coalition of 70 labor, emergency response, community, and environmental organizations working for safe, secure jobs and a healthy, sustainable environment.  Since 1986, they have worked to ensure that workers and the public are protected from hazardous chemical exposures.  Members of WEC include affiliates of the International Association of Firefighters, United Food and Commercial Workers, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, United Steelworkers, Health Professionals and Allied Employees, NJ Sierra Club, Environment-NJ, Clean Water Action, and many other organizations.

We are aware of the guidance from the US Department of Transportation [DOT] Emergency Response Guidebook [Guide 127 and 128 on ethanol and crude oil, respectively] recommending a 1/2 mile evacuation zone if only one tank car of these flammables is involved in a fire.

Given the demonstrated risks of derailment releases involving crude oil unit trains, we have come to you to request that you promptly seek out the key railroad risk documents which we need to assess our risks and our level of public safety in Illinois.  These documents should be rightfully made available to the local governing bodies by the railroad companies who pass through our region.

We need to review this information on what the US DOT calls High Hazard Flammable Trains operating most frequently with “unit trains” averaging 100 rail cars each, as well as on “manifest trains” with 10-20 cars of these cargoes.

Fundamentally, we want to make sure we are prepared in the case of an emergency.

Specifically, we seek this information:

1. The city and the various railroad’s own calculated Worst Case Scenarios for a potential crude oil train emergency in urban and sensitive environmental locales. Offsite Consequence Analyses are filed with US EPA by 13,000 fixed chemical facilities with the most dangerous chemicals.  What is the potential impact of a crude oil disaster in Chicago communities?

2. Evidence of the levels of catastrophic insurance coverage the railroads who pass through this region have purchased relevant for potential serious releases in Chicago. For what level of potential disaster are the railroad covered and how much of this will fall on the communities?

3. Your high hazard flammable train Comprehensive Emergency Response Plans, both generic and for specific typical locations in Chicago and surrounding areas. Is there any credible emergency response to crude oil train disasters except evacuation?

4. The applicable railroads’ route analysis documentation and route selection results for Chicago, pursuant to 2007 Public Law 110-53 on urban hazmat safety and security routing, with the currently covered cargoes, especially chlorine and ammonia, as well as for the newly-recognized “key trains” of crude oil and ethanol. How have the railroads weighted the 27 federal routing factors and whatever interchange agreements these railroad companies has struck with others in to avoid high-risk areas?

As Alderman, we are asking that you do the following things:

1. We understand that you could put pressure on the Mayor and the FRA to obtain the important railroad documents to complete the information requested above.
2. We understand that as part of Emergency Preparedness and preparation of evacuation routes in the area that the Alderman can hold a meeting with the Fire Marshall.
3. The Alderman can put pressure on US Reps and Sens from IL to pass S859, Marie Cantwell’s Crude by Rail Safety Act.
4. The Alderman can put pressure on the Mayor to come together with the other mayors in the region for advocacy towards some of our goals (listed in the Appendix A).
5. Can you work with our committee to draft a resolution to the City Council regarding these issues?
6. Could you consider working for a taxation of each car that carries Ethanol or Crude Oil?  This would help with the budget crisis in Chicago.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.  We feel that your efforts to these points will only serve to benefit Chicago, the community, as well as the country as a whole, and to neglect these points would be irresponsible in the face of what our community is facing.  We would appreciate a prompt response to our inquiry.

Sincerely,

Bill Drew, The McKinley Park Progressive Alliance

Paul Berland, Chicagoland Oil by Rail

 

 

Appendix A

Priorities for Helping the Community

Our priorities for improving the safety of crude oil transport by train through Chicagoland:

1) Degasify (Stabilize) Bakken Oil and establish a National Stand for Vapor PSI – Bakken oil has a mandated PSI of less than 13.7 by the state of ND, and has been usually measured at 11-12,  the Texas Eagle Ford frack oil has a Vapor PSI of 8 lbs PSI, the West Texas oil comes in at 3-4 lbs PSI, the Gulf of Mexico oil is 3.33 lbs PSI, and the crude oil train that destroyed Lac Mégantic, Quebec was measured at 10 PSI– our National Vapor Standard should fall somewhere between 4-8, following the lead of Texas since they degasify their oil and their oil trains have not been exploding into huge fireballs, like the ones out of the Bakken.

2) Re-Route hazardous trains around the populous areas of Chicagoland.

3) Community Right To Know –  local Fire Marshall s / Emergency Responders should be notified of all hazardous cargo moving through their jurisdictions – communities have the right to know as well and also know what the emergency preparedness and evacuation plans involve.

4) Mandate that railroads have enough insurance to adequately cover disasters, (The cost is $2 Billion and rising for Lac Mégantic at this time – this amount must be the floor for coverage, with coverage increasing according to the risks of the type of cargo and the more populated routes).

2nd Tier Goals:

5) Mandate that the railroads fix their infrastructure, with adequate inspectors and inspections.

6) Maintain at least 2 engineer teams on every hazardous cargo / oil train.

7) Lessen the # of cars on a “Unit Train” to 30 – 70 to be able to control the fluid dynamics and brake easier.

8) Differential placards per different crude oil so that there are different numbers for Tar Sands Oil, Bakken Oil, Gulf of Mexico Oil, etc. – emergency responders need to know the differences and the risks inherent of each – so does the public.

We request that you promptly seek out these key risk documents in an attempt to mitigate a highly potential upcoming disaster.  The agencies, fire services, and the public will need them to safeguard our safety, health, and environment.