The case for opposing oil trains through Sacramento
Plume of smoke and fire from one crude oil tank car explosion in Casselton, ND on December 30, 2013.
Background
California refineries are in the process of securing permits to build rail terminals to import Canadian tar sands and
Bakken crude oils from the Dakotas. Their intention is to use existing Union Pacific tracks through California,
including Sacramento. These crude-oil trains typically move 1 to 2 million gallons of crude oil in 80- to 100-tanker car
trains. The last few years have seen a dramatic rise in transport of crude oil by rail, accompanied by a similar rise in
spectacular accidents, nearly 100 in 2013. More crude oil was spilled in U.S. rail accidents in 2013—more than 1.5
million gallons—than in the preceding four decades.
The Threat of Oil Trains
 Oil trains carrying Bakken crude and tar sands oil are a new phenomenon. These unconventional oils, which are highly
flammable and toxic, are coming through our communities in increasing numbers.
 The railroad infrastructure was not designed to support the weight, numbers, and frequency of oil trains that are
proposed to use the tracks. There have been numerous incidents where trains have derailed, leading to explosions,
spills, and evacuations.
 The Dept of Transportation predicts an average of 10 serious incidents a year for the next two decades.
 A derailment or other incident could cause a fiery explosion of up to 900'. These fires cannot be extinguished; they have
to burn out. The danger zone is generally considered a one-mile radius of the blast.
 If the refineries are permitted to construct the rail spurs needed to receive these oil trains, we would see oil trains of
100+ tank cars of crude oil passing through Sacramento each day.
 An accident in Sacramento similar to one of the many incidents that have occurred in the US and Canada over the past
few years could be catastrophic. This is especially true given the number of schools within “blast zone.”
Schools Within the Blast Zone
There are 17 Sacramento schools within the blast zone; approximately 13,000 students are at risk, as well as teachers
and staff.
Action Needed
A number of school districts have gone on record opposing the Phillips 66 permit, including Berkeley, Oakland, San
Leandro, San Lorenzo, Hayward, Pleasant Valley, and Fremont Unified School Districts.
Oil Train Facts & Questions
FACT: Oil trains filled with highly flammable Bakken crude and toxic tar sands oil are currently going through the city of
Sacramento. These numbers will increase significantly, possibly to as many as 7–8 100-car trains per day in a few years, if
California refineries are allowed to receive crude by rail (see below). Nationally, the volume of oil transported by train in
2013 was 80 times higher than five years before. Source: The Washington Post
FACT: The number of explosive derailments and spills has increased significantly over the past few years. Railroads
spilled more crude in the United States during 2013 than in the previous four decades combined.
Source: McClatchy DC News
FACT: When oil trains explode, the fireball can be a spectacular 300'–900' in height. These fires generally cannot be put
out, they must burn out. People within a mile of the blast must be evacuated.
FACT: Bakken crude is significantly more flammable than conventional oil, and tar sands can be flammable depending
on what diluents are added to make it sufficiently liquid to be poured into the tank cars. According to the US Department of
Transportation, Bakken crude oil can have a flash point (when a chemical could vaporize and possibly ignite) below 73°
Fahrenheit, and a boiling point below 95° Fahrenheit. This is of particular concern for areas like Sacramento where
temperatures often rise above 100° in the summer months. Although the technology is available, the most volatile natural
gases are not removed prior to transport to reduce the oil’s instability/flammability, as this would reduce profitability.
FACT: While Bakken crude is extremely flammable, tar sands oil is extremely toxic and hard to clean up. A spill into the
Kalamazoo River in 2010 is still not cleaned up after almost 5 years and over $1 billion spent.
FACT: 70% of the highly flammable Bakken oil reaches refineries by rail, as this is the most cost-effective way to
transport the oil. It is too flammable to be transported by pipeline, and North Dakota has no pipeline infrastructure anyway.
Source: The Washington Post
FACT: According to a Department of Transportation report last July, the federal government predicts that trains hauling
crude oil or ethanol will derail an average of 10 times a year over the next two decades, causing more than $4 billion in
damage and possibly killing hundreds of people if an incident occurs in a densely populated area. Source: Associated Press
What are Bakken Crude and Tar Sands Oil?
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Bakken Crude oil is a type of unconventional oil produced from shale, mostly in North Dakota and Montana. It
requires hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” to release the petroleum.
Tar Sands oil, another unconventional oil, comes from Canada and more recently Utah and Oklahoma. Most tar sands
oil is extracted using strip mining, which removes the overlying layer of land/vegetation. In the event of a spill, the
heavy tar sands bitumen sinks immediately and is very hard to clean up.
All refined oil is sold on the global market. It does not stay in the U.S. to make us energy independent.
What are the risks?
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Bakken crude is much more flammable and unstable than traditional crude oil. Tar sands bitumen becomes flammable
with the addition of diluents to make the thick, heavy crude pour into tank cars.
The flammable natural gases at the top of the Bakken crude tank cars could be removed and sold separately, reducing
the flammability to the level of gasoline; however, the industry is unwilling as the process requires costly infrastructure
(towers), and also the less full tanks cars means less profit.
Urban areas like Sacramento are at an even higher risk of train derailment and mass casualties, as they have
significantly higher points of train/vehicle intersections at population centers.
Train transportation for oil is also riskier as liquids such as oil “slosh” inside the train cars, thus creating instability.
Most of the tanker cars used to transport the oil were designed to carry syrup, not flammable substances like Bakken
crude or tar sands oil. Even the updated cars have been shown to be inadequate; several of the recent oil train
explosions occurred with the “improved” tank cars.
There are infrastructure concerns as tracks and crossings are old and not designed for such long, frequent, heavy trains.
In addition, there are insufficient inspectors for these tracks. Multiple preventable train accidents over the past few
years were deemed caused by infrastructure issues.
If refineries are permitted to receive crude-by-rail deliveries, it is projected that 7–8 100-car trains could travel through
the middle of Sacramento each day at 40 miles per hour.
Phillips 66 Oil Train Project
Phillips 66 in San Luis Obispo is requesting permission to build a rail spur so they can receive crude by rail shipments. The
refinery previously received its crude by pipelines. School districts currently have the opportunity to comment on this
permit.
Increasing California Refinery Capacity
The California Energy Commission is tracking the following projects, which would dramatically increase the oil-by-rail
capacity of refineries:
 Plains All American Pipeline LP in Bakersfield, which took its first delivery in November 2014, has a capacity of
65,000 barrels per day (bpd);
 Alon USA Energy Inc. in Bakersfield, under construction, will be able to receive 150,000 bpd;
 Valero Energy Corp. in Benicia, which is presently undergoing permit review, would have a 70,000 bpd capacity;
 WesPac Energy-Pittsburg LLC in Pittsburg, undergoing permit review, could receive up 50,000 bpd by rail and
192,000 bpd through its marine terminal; and
 Phillips 66 in Santa Maria, undergoing permit review, could accept 41,000 bpd.
In addition, Targa Resources Corp. at the Port of Stockton is planning an expansion that would enable it to receive 65,000
bpd and Questar Gas Corp. is planning a project that could see it offload 120,000 bpd near Desert Hot Springs, then send it
through a repurposed 96-mile pipeline to Los Angeles.
Source: League of California Cities
What is 350 Sacramento?
A local grassroots group of concerned citizens working to address climate change. http://www.350sacramento.org
North American Oil Train Incidents over the Last 3 Years (July 2012–June 2015)
(Does not include other train incidents such as the May 2015 Amtrak accident in Philadelphia)
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July 11, 2012: Columbus, OH. A 98-car oil train derailed near the Ohio State Fairgrounds. The
resulting explosion required a mile-wide evacuation. Two people were injured.
July 6, 2013: Lac-Megantic, Quebec. A freight train containing 72 tank cars of crude oil derailed in a
small tourist town. Several cars explode, resulting in the death of 42 people (and 5 more missing,
presumed dead). Roughly half of the downtown area buildings are destroyed and the contamination
requires moving the downtown area.
Oct 19, 2013: Edmonton, Alberta. A 13-car train carrying crude oil and liquefied petroleum derailed
west of the city. Residents were evacuated as far as Gainford, Alberta.
Nov 8, 2013: Pickens County, AL. A 90-car train carrying Bakken crude oil derailed and exploded into
flames 300' high. The fire took 24 hours to burn out.
Dec 30, 2013: Casselton, North Dakota. Several grain cars derailed and collided with an oil train on an
adjoining track. Several tank cars exploded, resulting in large clouds of toxic black smoke, forcing an
evacuation of the area.
Jan 7, 2014: Plaster Rock, New Brunswick. A train carrying crude oil and propane derailed, caught
fire, and resulted in an evacuation area of over a mile.
Jan 31, 2014: New Augusta, Mississippi. 18 to 24 cars of a 85-car train carrying crude oil, methane,
and liquid fertilizer derailed and began leaking. Although the incident occurred in a rural area, 12
families had to be evacuated and four lanes of US 98 were closed.
April 30, 2014: Lynchburg, Virginia. 15 tankers carrying crude oil derailed and caught fire, causing
fears of water contamination in the Mississippi River.
May 10, 2014: LaSalle, CO. A derailed train resulted in a 6,500-gallon oil spill.
Oct 7, 2014: Clair, Saskatchewan. 26 out of 100 cars derailed, two of which leaked petroleum distillate
and caught fire. Approximately 50 homes were evacuated and Hwy 5 was shut down.
Feb 16, 2015: Timmins, Ontario. 29 cars of a 100-car freight train transporting crude oil derailed.
Seven crude oil tank cars caught fire.
Feb 16, 2015: West Virginia. A freight train derailed and at least seven crude oil tank cars burned. Over
60 people were evacuated from their homes.
March 5, 2015: Galena, Illinois. 21 cars of a 105-car train carrying Bakken crude oil left the track and
caught fire.
March 7, 2015: Gogama, Ontario. 40 cars derailed, with five falling into the Makami River. Seven
cars carrying crude oil caught fire and burned for several days.
May 6, 2015: Heimdal, North Dakota. A derailment ignited a crude oil fire in six tanker cars and
forced evacuation of approximately 40 nearby residents.
The Lac-Megantic, Quebec Disaster (July 6, 2013)—We don’t want this to happen here!
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A 74-car train carrying Bakken crude oil derailed, resulting in a major explosion.
47 people (ages 4–93) were confirmed dead or missing (presumed to have been vaporized by the
explosion).
More than 30 buildings were destroyed (roughly half the downtown) by the blast; however, all but three
of the remaining downtown buildings will have to be demolished due to contamination.
The initial blast radius was just under two-thirds of a mile.
The explosion resulted in a fireball three times taller than the buildings it engulfed, and heat from the
blast was felt over a mile away.
After 24 hours, the center of the fire was still burning and inaccessible to firefighters.
The town's river was contaminated by an estimated 26,000 gallons of oil.
Heavy contamination of the water from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was reported, and arsenic
levels are believed to be well above legal limits.
Conclusion: Lac-Megantic is a small town of less than 6,000 people. If a similar incident were to occur
in Sacramento, the death toll and devastation could be exponentially larger.