The resolution, introduced by Council members Ryan Walters and Liz Lovelett, urges the U. S. Department of Transportation to, “Adopt new safety standards for rail tank cars that are capable of preventing leakage or explosion in the event of derailment and are no less strict than Canadian standards as soon as possible and no later than the end of 2014,” and mandate that rail cars be retrofitted to comply.
The resolution says, “The City of Anacortes urges the state and federal governments to ensure the protection of our communities and waterways from oil spills and accidents, and to provide the resources necessary for communities to adequately mitigate and manage these new or heightened risks, including sufficient training and provisioning of local first responders for spills and fires.”
Lovelett told the Council that the non-binding resolution, “higher-ups to act to implement higher standards.” She said this resolution was not intended to suggest opposition to the Shell refinery request to add a rail yard capable of handling 100-car unit trains carrying Bakken crude oil from North Dakota.
Shell Refinery’s turnaround manager Joe Luciano questioned the timing of the resolution, which comes as Shell’s permit applications to build and operate a larger rail yard capable of handling 100-unit trains carrying Bakken crude oil are under review by various agencies, including the county Planning Department.
Tesoro’s External Affairs Manager Matt Gill suggested the Council might want to meet with representatives of BNSF. which operates the trains and tracks that carry Bakken crude to the Tesoro refinery and will do the same for Shell once their rail yard is operating.
When Mayor Gere opened the discussion for public comment, Sandra Spargo questioned whether Bakken crude is safe enough to carry by rail, noting that Bakken crude oil characteristics make it more explosive than other crude oil.
Gill confirmed that Tesoro built and uses double-wall rail cars that meet higher standards than are current in place by the federal government.
Council member Matt Miller suggested the resolution’s timing is prejudicial to Shell’s rail project. He said he is more concerned about emergency planning needed to prepare for emergencies.
After several suggestions, Walters said he would re-work the resolution and bring it back to a future Council meeting.