Crude oil rail cars, like the ones shown here, are becoming more prevalent on the nation’s rail lines. As a result, New York State is calling on the federal government to improve safety regulations regarding the transportation of crude oil via rail. (Image from breakingenergy.com)
ALBANY – New York state is asking the White House to take immediate federal action to strengthen national standards and regulation of crude oil transport.
Governor Andrew Cuomo sent the letter to the White House on Wednesday. Accompanying the letter was the State’s comprehensive crude oil transportation safety report, which was prepared by five state agencies in accordance with an Executive Order issued by the Governor in January.
The report details ten critical federal recommendations and presents a package of state administrative, regulatory, and legislative action.
Coincidentally, the report was also sent to the White House just prior to another derailment incident involving a train transporting crude oil, this time near Lynchburg, Va. Following the incident, the governor made the following statement:
“Earlier today, I wrote a letter to President Obama urging the federal government take immediate steps to bring much needed and overdue safety regulation to the crude oil transportation system. Just hours later, news comes of yet another serious oil train derailment, this time in Lynchburg, Virginia. Our thoughts and prayers are with any possible victims of this accident.
“This is the latest in a series of accidents involving trains transporting crude oil, a startling pattern that underscores the need for action. In addition to steps that states like New York are taking, the federal government must overhaul the safety regulations, starting with taking DOT-111 trains off the rails now. These trains travel through populated communities in Upstate New York and we cannot wait for a tragic disaster in our state to act.”
According to the governor, with the United States becoming the number one producer of crude oil in the world, New York State has become a central route for the rail transport of crude oil, with tens of millions of gallons of oil passing along the state’s rail corridors each day. Communities in 22 counties, including Chautauqua County and the cities of Dunkirk, Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Albany, and Plattsburgh, and nearly all of the state’s major waterways are home to this network.
The Governor says his actions are designed to establish proactive safety precautions to help prevent the disasters that have occurred in other states and in Canada as transit infrastructures adjust to the crude oil boom.
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