BNSF Railway officials emphasized a safety-first mentality, billions of dollars’ worth of capital investments and a pledge to spend millions training first responders in the event of an oil spill during a workshop Monday with the Vancouver City Council.
Johan Hellman, executive director of governmental affairs for the Northwest region, and Patrick Brady, director of hazardous materials and special operations, spoke in general about BNSF’s commitment to safety on its 32,500 route miles in 28 states and two Canadian provinces. The company, which moves one-fourth of the nation’s freight, said 99.997 percent of its crude oil shipments are delivered without incident. BNSF plans on spending $5 billion in capital upgrades this year, up from $4 billion last year and $3.6 billion in 2012.
But members of the city council — a majority of whom have publicly opposed plans to build the Northwest’s largest oil-handling facility at the Port of Vancouver — were most interested in hearing how the company can ensure oil will be shipped safely on the city’s urban rail line. The chance of a spill was described as “extremely remote,” but Brady said in the event of an accident the Vancouver Fire Department would be the first responder along with members of BNSF hazardous material teams.
City Manager Eric Holmes said the city will be doing its own assessment of the fire department’s current capability to respond to a spill and what the department would need should Gov. Jay Inslee end up approving the $110 million project proposed by Tesoro Corp. and Savage Companies.
The city council had scheduled to vote April 21 on whether to be an intervenor in the state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council process, meaning the city would be a party of record and could call witnesses and present evidence for the panel to consider. The EFSEC process ends with a recommendation to Inslee.
However, Holmes said Monday that the vote has been postponed because a council subcommittee — Councilors Bart Hansen, Jack Burkman and Larry Smith — are working on a policy resolution regarding the oil terminal proposal. The three subcommittee members, along with Councilor Anne McEnerny-Ogle, have publicly opposed the oil terminal project.
Councilors Bill Turlay and Alishia Topper, along with Mayor Tim Leavitt, have said it’s too soon to make an informed decision.
The city council doesn’t have authority over the lease with Tesoro-Savage, as that was signed with Port of Vancouver officials, but the council could join Seattle, Bellingham and other cities in calling for tougher safety regulations and putting a statewide moratorium on expanding oil-handling facilities or building new ones.
In December, the city sent a letter to EFSEC outlining more than 100 areas of concern it wants the agency to include in its environmental impact review.
The city’s concerns reflect many of those raised by opponents, including potential oil spills, fiery train derailments, train-traffic impacts on neighborhoods, detrimental impacts to the waterfront redevelopment plan and greenhouse gas emissions.
During Monday’s workshop, Brady discussed wireless communication technology that has enhanced safety by preventing train-to-train collisions and enforcing speed limits and detection systems that alert crews to potential problems. He also said BNSF would be asking major railcar manufacturers to submit bids to build 5,000 state-of-the-art tank cars that would go beyond even the most recent safety standards, a move the company announced in February.
Topper asked Brady how long it would be before all of the cars moving through Vancouver would be the newest models, and Brady said the company hopes that would happen within five to seven years.
Leavitt said apart from safety issues, residents have expressed concerns about the volume of trains passing through the city, creating reduced access at crossings. Topper asked if there was a maximum number of trains per day. Hellman said track capacity isn’t expressed in a single number, and part of the company’s plan for upgrades includes additional sidings, where one train can wait for another to pass.
