Feds Propose to Phase Out Older Rail Tank Cars
The federal government proposed to phase out older tank cars and lower speed limits for some oil trains in an effort to mitigate transportation risks posed by the nation’s energy boom.
Improved braking systems and new testing requirements for crude oil before it’s loaded into tank cars also are contained in the proposed rules that Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx unveiled July 23.
The proposals address the transportation of ethanol and crude oil but were prompted by a series of derailments and explosions this past year. Most involved trains carrying crude from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota, which is now the second-largest oil-producing state after Texas.
Foxx said DOT testing confirmed that Bakken crude oil is on the “high end of volatility” compared with other crude oils.
“And not only is it on the high end of volatility, its production is skyrocketing: up from 9,500 rail carloads in 2008 . . . to 415,000 last year, a more than 4,000% increase,” Foxx said during a press conference where he presented the proposals.
“If America is going to be a world leader in producing energy, our job at this department is to ensure we’re also a world leader in safely transporting it,” he said.
