Canada’s municipalities and a committee of the Canadian Senate are lending their weight to pressure on the federal government to overhaul its rail safety standards.
The annual conference of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities called for “swift, concrete action” on three priorities: Equipping and supporting municipal first responders to accidents, ensuring federal and industry policies and regulations address safety concerns and ensuring local taxpayers don’t shoulder the safety and emergency costs.
“We agree that it’s important for our economy ... 70 percent of our exports go through the rail system,” said FCM President Claude Dauphin. “At the same time we need to make sure the rail system is safe.”
Pauline Quinlan, mayor of the Quebec town of Bromont, said federal law should “guarantee companies have sufficient coverage to cover all costs associated with rail emergencies.”
Review urged
A day earlier, a committee of the Canadian Senate urged the government to start an independent review of Canada’s railway regulations to better ensure the safe transportation of dangerous goods.
The study said the measures should include the phasing out of 40-year-old tanker cars, even if that means slowing the shipment of oil when pipelines are full.
In a study focused on the movement of bulk hydrocarbons by pipelines, tankers and rail, the Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources said the government should move immediately to implement recommendations made two years ago covering the safety of rail shipments.
The committee started its latest review nine months ago, but noted the Lac-Megantic derailment had overtaken its work.
“It will take some time before all the facts of this tragedy are covered,” the committee said.
“However, there can be no doubt that the accident underscored concerns ... about the risk to the public and the environment, particularly as North America is expanding its oil and natural gas production,” and Canada is stepping up its efforts to export crude bitumen and LNG to foreign markets.
Retirement of DOT-111 cars urged
The committee urged the government to accelerate the retirement of the DOT-111 rail cars (also referred to as CT-111A in Canada and DOT-111A in the United States) used to transport crude and which safety boards in Canada and the U.S. have said are prone to puncturing in a derailment.
It also called for federal inspections in Canada to be prioritized according to the highest risk cargoes.
The study said the Quebec accident should have the same impact on the rail industry as the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska had on the marine transportation industry: That spill resulted in an overhaul by Canada of its “spill preparedness and response programs.”
However, the committee said both pipeline and rail remain safe means of transporting crude and other hazardous goods. For pipelines, 99.9996 percent of oil reaches its destination without a spill, while for rail, the success rate is 99.9 percent, the committee reported.
Sen. Richard Neufeld, chair of the committee, said in a news release that “the shocking Lac-Megantic disaster has only intensified” the work on hydrocarbon transportation, reinforcing the committee’s view that an arm’s-length review of the rail safety regime is necessary.
—Gary Park
