At a press conference at City Hall, the two joined leaders from The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, and others in opposing rail transport of Bakken crude oil.
“We got our warning two weeks ago: this oil is too dangerous to ship,’’ said Chair Kafoury. “Take a moment to imagine that fire on Water Avenue in the Central Eastside, or in the Pearl District.’’
The renewed opposition comes after the disastrous derailment of an oil train passing through Mosier, Oregon on June 3, 2016. The derailment, which sent a plume of toxic smoke high into the air and caused some 10,000 gallons of oil to leak into a local water treatment plant, rekindled concerns about transporting volatile Bakken oil through the most densely populated county in Oregon and the iconic Columbia River Gorge.
Mayor Hales said the city last year, “made some very clear and strong statements that we don’t want oil trains running through our city and we don’t want to participate in the transshipment of fossil fuels around the world. The tragic events in Mosier have illustrated that.”
Physicians for Social Responsibility first brought the issue to Multnomah County earlier this year. The Office of Sustainability reported on the risks around oil train transport. The Board of Commissioners later voted to oppose further oil-by-train transport.
The report found that:
Transport by rail of hazardous materials such as crude oil and natural gas have increased 340 percent since 2012.
Most oil is currently carried in outdated tank cars prone to puncture, spills, and fires in train accidents.
Crude oil from the Bakken fields is more volatile and flammable than most other crude oil.
Ten significant train derailments have occurred in North America since July 2013, one of which resulted in multiple fatalities and injuries.
Impact from a major incident involving an oil train will extend beyond the immediately impacted area due to a toxic smoke plume, and stress and trauma to the population.
The rapid increase of oil by rail has eclipsed the response capabilities of the local emergency responders and funding for those capabilities has not kept pace.
More than 25 percent of Multnomah County’s population lives within a half-a-mile of the rail lines that are used by oil trains, including 108 schools, 100 child care centers, and $25 billion dollars worth of infrastructure.
Chair Kafoury and Mayor Hales said they are calling on the state and federal leaders because local governments have gone as far as they can.
Regna Merritt, Healthy Climate Program Director at Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility called upon Oregon and Washington state governments “to deny permits that facilitate the transport and storage of this oil,” and Paul Lumley of CRITFC requested a “permanent ban on all dangerous oil trains along the Columbia River.” A statement that was met with cheers of approval from the audience.
Mosier Fire Chief, Jim Appleton, praised the actions of first responders in Mosier and spoke about the trauma his community has felt from the disaster. He reiterated the need for “a total ban on oil trains.”
The speakers were in agreement that stronger action is needed against increased oil train traffic in this region.
The Vancouver Energy Terminal, which would be the nation’s largest oil train facility would bring trains to Washington and Oregon.
“More crude on our rails.’’ Chair Kafoury said, “means more danger in our community.”