More than a year ahead of the United States, the Canadian government has removed tank cars from the transportation of crude oil that have leaked and caught fire in rail accidents.
Canada’s Transport Minister, Marc Garneau, said Monday that the legacy DOT-111 tank car would no longer be permitted to move crude oil within Canada as of Tuesday, 16 months ahead of schedule.
According to a timetable set by Congress last December, a comparable phase-out won’t occur on the U.S. side of the border until Jan. 1, 2018.
According to a timetable set by Congress last December, a comparable phase-out won’t occur on the U.S. side of the border until Jan. 1, 2018.
[West Virginia, Canada derailments renew focus on oil tank cars]
The DOT-111 has been faulted in numerous oil train derailments in North America in the past several years, including one in Quebec in 2013 that killed 47 people.
“My department will ensure that the deadline is respected and will not hesitate to take quick action should any legacy tank cars be found transporting crude oil,” Garneau said in a statement.
My department will ensure that the deadline is respected and will not hesitate to take quick action should any legacy tank cars be found transporting crude oil.
Marc Garneau, Transport Canada
The tank car has a thin steel shell that can puncture easily in a derailment and is poorly protected from prolonged fire exposure. U.S. and Canadian regulators have required a sturdier design for transporting flammable liquids that will be phased in over the next several years.
[Told to fix leaky oil train cars in 2 months, owners sought 3 years]
The shipment of oil by rail has declined precipitously in the past year, however, as new pipeline capacity has become available and as the price of oil has discouraged rail transport.
The shipment of oil by rail has declined precipitously in the past year, however, as new pipeline capacity has become available and as the price of oil has discouraged rail transport.
According to figures released Monday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, railroads transported 348,000 barrels of crude oil a day in August, mostly from North Dakota’s Bakken shale region to refineries in the mid-Atlantic and the Pacific Northwest.
[Analysis forecasts derailment every other year if oil train terminal is built]
Another 75,000 barrels originated in Canada by rail in August.
Last year alone, there were seven oil train derailments in North America, spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons, sometimes igniting large fires and causing mass evacuations.
That’s roughly half the oil volume that was moving by rail just two years ago, when pipeline capacity was scarce and prices were much higher.
[Read McClatchy’s award-winning coverage of oil trains here]
Last year alone, there were seven oil train derailments in North America, spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons, sometimes igniting large fires and causing mass evacuations.
In June, a Union Pacific oil train derailed in Mozier, Oregon, in the Columbia River Gorge. Of the train’s 94 cars, 16 derailed, three caught fire and four leaked. About 47,000 gallons of Bakken crude oil was released.
Curtis Tate: 202-383-6018, @tatecurtis
Comments