Transparency about Hazardous Oil Shipments Possible After All

After the Federal Railroad Administration issued an emergency order on May 7 that Bakken information about oil shipments be shared with appropriate state agencies, question arose about whether that information could be shared with the public.

2 minute read

July 1, 2014, 10:00 AM PDT

By Irvin Dawid


"The nation’s largest haulers of crude oil by rail on (June 24) appeared to abandon their insistence that information about such shipments could not be shared publicly for security reasons," writes Curtis Tate of the McClatchy Washington Bureau. Heretofore they had thought that information only needed to be shared with the appropriate state officials, as indicated below.

After the Department of Transportation issued an Emergency Order on May 7 (also posted here) "requiring all railroads operating trains containing large amounts of Bakken crude oil to notify State Emergency Response Commissions about the operation of these trains through their states," not only did the railroads not make the routing information available to the press and general public, states also kept the information secret. The order would take effect in 30 days.

As Tate and his Sacramento Bee colleague, Tony Bizjak wrote in an earlier article about crude-by-rail going to Sacramento, California, state officials said "they will follow federal advice to divulge information only to local firefighters and others who must respond if there is a hazardous spill or fire."

Tate writes that "railroads (had) insisted that states limit public release of the information, calling it security sensitive, and asked them to sign nondisclosure agreements. But neither the Transportation Department nor the railroads could identify a specific legal justification for keeping the information secret."

It appears that the DOT clarification may have been resulted in part from McClatchy and other news organizations requesting information from Washington state in early June under open records laws.

However, that same openness didn't extend to New York, where "officials are reviewing a request by CSX to not publicly disclose movements of its freight trains carrying crude oil across the state," writes Brian Tumulty for the Poughkeepsie Journal.

The routing information is being shared with “appropriate state public safety officials,” according to the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

Accompanying DOT's May 7 Emergency Order was a Safety Advisory from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

The two transportation agencies strongly urged "those shipping or offering Bakken crude oil to use tank car designs with the highest level of integrity available in their fleets," states the order.

In addition, PHMSA and FRA advise offerors and carriers to the extent possible to avoid the use of older legacy DOT Specification 111 or CTC 111 called [they are called CTC-111A in Canada] tank cars for the shipment of Bakken crude oil.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014 in Sacramento Bee

Sweeping view of Portland, Oregon with Mt. Hood in background against sunset sky.

Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary

Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.

March 12, 2024 - Housing Wire

Aerial view of green roofs with plants in Sydney, Australia.

Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024

A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.

March 10, 2024 - Daily Journal of Commerce

Cobblestone street with streetcar line, row of vintage streetlights on left, and colorful restaurant and shop awnings on right on River Street in Savannah, Georgia.

Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts

From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.

March 12, 2024 - Strong Towns

Aerial View of Chuckanut Drive and the Blanchard Bridge in the Skagit Valley.

Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding

The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.

March 18 - The Seattle Times

Historic buildings in downtown Los Angeles with large "Pan American Lofts" sign on side of building.

Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly

The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.

March 18 - Beverly Press

View from above of swan-shaped paddleboats with lights on around artesian fountain in Echo Park Lake with downtown Los Angeles skylien in background at twilight.

LA's Top Parks, Ranked

TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.

March 18 - TimeOut

News from HUD User

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

Mpact Transit + Community

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.