On June 9, 2015, during
a joint hearing in Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania Senate Transportation Committee
and Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee engaged with various
representatives of the energy and rail industries, Governor’s office, Public
Utility Commission, American Petroleum Institute, and emergency responders to
discuss and debate the best ways to address “[s]afe transportation of crude oil
(and other energy products) by rail in Pennsylvania.”
In a report
published in 2014, the U.S. EIA observed that, due to increasing crude oil
production in the Bakken shale oil field of North Dakota, the number of unit
trains shipments from North Dakota to Eastern refineries, such as Philadelphia
Energy Solutions’ plant in South Philadelphia, massively increased.
As Mr. Philip Rinaldi,
Chief Executive Officer of Philadelphia Energy Solutions, testified, “we are
the single largest consumer of Bakken crude consuming upwards of 20% of the total
production of North Dakota” which brings challenges in terms of potential
significant public and environmental impacts in case of rail incidents.
The general outcome of
the hearing pointed out the importance of a comprehensive approach to prevent
train derailments by conforming to new
federal safety rules and providing first emergency responders the proper
means of intervention through training programs.
Further information is
available at http://www.senatorgeneyaw.com/2015/06/08/safe-transportation-of-crude-oil-and-other-energy-products-by-rail-in-pennsylvania/.
Written by Chloe Marie - Research Fellow
06/12/2015
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