Sen. Schumer demands new federal crude-by-rail volatility standards

June 7, 2018
US Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) has asked US Departments of Energy and Transportation leaders to propose and quickly finalize new volatility standards for crude oil shipped by rail. New US Energy Information Administration data show shipments of crude by rail to Northeastern US refineries reached 3.1 million bbl in March—a level not seen since early 2017, he said on June 6.

US Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) has asked US Departments of Energy and Transportation leaders to propose and quickly finalize new volatility standards for crude oil shipped by rail. New US Energy Information Administration data show shipments of crude by rail to Northeastern US refineries reached 3.1 million bbl in March—a level not seen since early 2017, he said on June 6.

This news, along with the impending fifth anniversary next month of a crude train derailment and fire that killed 47 people and caused extensive damage in Lac-Megantic, Que., makes the crude-by-rail safety issue more urgent than ever, Schumer said.

An investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada concluded that multiple factors led to the July 6, 2013, derailment of the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway train carrying 72 carloads of Bakken crude to Irving Oil Ltd.’s refinery in St. Johns, NB (OGJ Online, Aug. 20, 2014).

“The bottom line is any time you are transporting volatile chemicals, there is a risk of explosion. Things like safer tank cars, better braking, and lower speed limits all help make the rails safer,” Schumer said. “But when it comes to crude, one of the most powerful things we could do would be to set a good standard for the stability of what’s actually inside the tank cars.”

Schumer said existing efforts, including stakeholder comments collected by DOE and DOT for their oil volatility study, should be quickly finished and used to create new standards so shipments will be safer.

“Stabilization technology is not a new concept and has previously been used in oil fields in other regions of the country and the world,” he said in his letter to Energy Sec. Rick Perry and Transportation Sec. Elaine L. Chao.

“While North Dakota has attempted to address this issue on a state level, it seems apparent that [its] regulation did not go far enough. They required that oil be stabilized to at least 13.7 psi, a standard that the oil involved in the Lac-Megantic disaster would have met,” Schumer said. “I ask that your agencies work together to develop a standard for stabilization that would greatly reduce the risk of [similar] disasters.”

Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].