Blog post by Dan Serres, Riverkeeper’s Conservation Director—
For the third time in six months, a train carrying crude oil from North Dakota derailed and exploded, near Casselton, North Dakota, highlighting public safety risks surrounding the huge oil-by-rail proposal at the Port of Vancouver on the Columbia River. Residents of Casselton were evacuated because toxic smoke from the nearby burning oil train posed a significant health risk. The Tesoro-Savage proposal in Vancouver, Washington would ship the same North Dakota oil (from the Bakken formation), in the same cars (aging T-111 tank cars), over the same rail system (BNSF) that resulted in the catastrophic fire in Casselton.
Video of the oil train explosion near Casselton
The recent Casselton explosion spotlights the risk river communities face where mile-long rains of explosive crude oil would travel close to homes, schools, and sensitive watersheds. Along the Columbia River, Vancouver’s largest developer—Gramor Development—is objecting to the risks posed by oil trains moving through Vancouver’s waterfront area. Gramor developer, Barry Cain, stated in The Columbian, "It is not hyperbole to state that the future of Vancouver is at stake.”
