Pan Am Railways Settles Clean Water Act Violations in Maine and Mass, pays $152,000 Fine

Release Date: 07/21/2015

Contact Information: David Deegan (617) 918-1017


BOSTON – Pan Am Railways has agreed to settle EPA allegations that they violated the federal Clean Water Act at two of its railyards operating in Waterville, Maine, and East Deerfield, Mass. The company has agreed to pay a fine of $152,000 to resolve the violations.
 
According to allegations in a complaint filed by EPA this past winter related to the Waterville facility, Pan Am violated the conditions of the Maine “Multi-Sector General Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated with Industrial Activity,” as well as federal Oil Pollution Prevention Regulations. 

According to EPA’s complaint, Pan Am’s stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) did not adequately describe control measures necessary to minimize the impact of stormwater running offsite to nearby surface waters. Debris piles were located on site without proper controls in place, and oil staining was observed throughout the site. EPA asserted that the company failed to maintain certain erosion control measures. In addition, EPA alleged that the company failed to fully implement a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) plan, a tool to avoid oil spills.
 
EPA had also filed another complaint alleging similar violations related to the company’s East Deerfield, Mass. facility. EPA alleged that Pan Am violated the conditions related to stormwater management of its individual NPDES permit, and also violated the federal Oil Pollution Prevention Regulations. 

According to the complaint, the facility failed to include adequate site maps that contained all the required components of a SWPPP; failed to conduct annual stormwater inspections in 2011 and 2012; and failed to implement good housekeeping practices designed to maintain areas that are potential sources of pollutants. The facility also failed to stabilize an area of the site where significant erosion was occurring. In addition, EPA alleged that the company failed to fully implement its SPCC plan at this site as well.
 
As part of the settlement, in addition to the financial penalty, Pan Am also agreed to undertake an Environmental Culture Assessment (ECA) and develop and implement action plans to improve the current environmental culture at five of its New England facilities located in: East Deerfield, Mass., Ayer, Mass., North Billerica, Mass., Waterville, Maine, and South Portland, Maine. The goal of the ECA and action plans is to reduce the impact of rail operation on the environment.
 
The Clean Water Act requires that certain industrial facilities, such as railyards, have controls in place to minimize pollutants from being discharged with stormwater into nearby waterways. Each site must have a stormwater pollution prevention plan that describes the best management practices that the company will follow to prevent runoff from being contaminated by pollutants.
 
Without adequate on-site controls, stormwater runoff can flow directly to the nearest waterway and can cause water quality impairments such as siltation of rivers, beach closings, fishing restrictions, and habitat degradation. As stormwater flows over these sites, it can pick up pollutants, including sediment, biological and chemical oxygen demand, and oil and grease. 

The law also prohibits the discharge of process waste waters without a permit. Untreated wastewater discharges and stormwater runoff can harm or kill fish and wildlife and can affect drinking water quality.
 
Every year, thousands of gallons of oil are spilled from oil storage facilities, polluting New England waters. Even the effects of smaller spills add up and damage aquatic life, as well as public and private property. Spill prevention plans are critical to prevent such spills or, if they do occur, adequately address them.
 
More information:
EPA's enforcement of the Clean Water Act http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/water-enforcement
Oil spill prevention (www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/spcc/index.htm)

TRI Reporting Failures from No. Canaan, Conn. Companies, Specialty Minerals Inc. and Minteq International Inc., Nets Emergency Response Equipment for Local Fire Departments under EPA Settlement

Release Date: 07/22/2015

Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017


BOSTON, MASS.

 An EPA settlement with two North Canaan mineral processing companies for the companies’ alleged failure to file required toxic release inventory information requires that two local emergency response units be provided with $28,700 of equipment that will help firefighters to better protect local residents in emergencies.
 
Under the settlement, Specialty Minerals Inc. and Minteq International Inc. will also pay a civil penalty of $76,500, settling EPA claims that the facilities violated the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act by failing to complete and submit timely toxic release inventory (TRI) reports for lead compounds, manganese, antimony and propylene. The Toxics Release Inventory is a public right-to-know requirement that tracks the management of certain toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health and the environment.
 
The settlement requires that Specialty Minerals and Minteq jointly purchase and donate emergency response equipment and training materials and/or classes to the Canaan Fire Company and the Torrington Fire Department, which will allow for field readings and monitoring of conditions during hazardous materials incidents and for personal protection of emergency responders who might encounter hazardous chemicals in the field. 
 
“Failing to file toxic inventory forms deprives the community of its right to know about releases and the presence of toxic chemicals in the neighborhood,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “EPA is pleased that in this settlement, two local communities will benefit from their local fire departments having access to specialized equipment to better protect health during emergencies.”
 
Under the Toxics Release Inventory, certain U.S. facilities must report annually how much of each toxic chemical is released to the environment and/or managed through recycling, energy recovery and treatment. A "release" of a chemical means that it is emitted to the air or water, or placed in some type of land disposal.
 
More information on Toxic Release Inventory: http://www2.epa.gov/toxics-release-inventory-tri-program/learn-about-toxics-release-inventory

1 killed in an underriding crash involving truck, tractor-trailer in Greensboro, NC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted 4:39 pm, July 23, 2015, by Joe Borlik

GREENSBORO, N.C. –

One person is dead after a crash in Greensboro involving a truck and a tractor-trailer.

It happened on southbound Business 85 near Holden Road and was reported shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday.

Greensboro police, highway patrol, Guilford County EMS and Greensboro firefighters are all responding to the incident.

There is no current word on the identities of the people involved or details on the circumstances surrounding the wreck.

The crash had closed three of four lanes, but traffic has since reopened.

Columbia Gas followed rules for gas meter installation prior to Fairfield Inn & Suites in Beaumont Centre hotel explosion and collapse

 

 

Posted: July 23, 2015

 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - 

Investigators say Columbia Gas of Kentucky did not violate any safety rules at a Lexington hotel that exploded last year after a natural gas leak.

The Kentucky Public Service Commission announced Wednesday that an investigation revealed that the gas company followed safety regulations regarding protection of meters from accidental damage.

On Sept. 7, a car hit an above-ground gas meter outside Fairfield Inn & Suites in Beaumont Centre. The resulting gas leak fueled a large explosion that collapsed a large portion of the 60-room hotel, causing severe damage to three floors. No one was seriously injured.

Investigators say the gas meter met the standards in place when the meter was installed in 1994.

Concrete pillars have since been placed around the gas meter at the hotel, which reopened in May.


///----/

Gas explosion leads to partial collapse of Fairfield Inn in Lexington, KY

By Mary Meehan and Justin Madden

mmeehan1@herald-leader.comSeptember 7, 2014 

Firefighters and worked at the scene of a gas explosion that destroyed part of the Fairfield Inn and Suites at Beaumont Center in Lexington, Ky., on Sept. 8, 2014. PABLO ALCALA — Lexington Herald-Leader

A car hit a gas meter and triggered an explosion that caused part of the Fairfield Inn in Beaumont Centre to collapse Sunday night.

Parts of three floors sustained heavy damage.

Although damage to the building was severe, there were no serious injuries, and hotel guests and others on the scene credited a hotel manager who knocked on doors to evacuate the building before the explosion. Two firefighters were taken to the hospital as a precaution after the explosion. Their injuries were not described as serious. An elderly man also reportedly had minor injuries.

"We are just lucky to be alive," said Fairfield Inn guest Bob Hartmann of Chesterton, Ind.

Hartmann still had his card key in his pocket as he stood across the parking lot watching the tattered curtains blow in the space where his room used to be. Hartmann, who came to Lexington with his wife, Margo, said the couple had been out to dinner with their daughter when the explosion occurred. They saw the still-smoking ruins from the street as they returned. They lost all of the belongings they had left in the hotel.

The fire department got a call of a private alarm at the Fairfield Inn about 6:15 p.m. Sunday and arrived to find the gas leaking. About 10 minutes later, there was an explosion, said Battalion Chief Joe Best. Several cars were damaged and were under rubble from the building Sunday night.

According to police, a car in the parking lot apparently lurched forward, hitting an above-ground gas meter that leads to the Fairfield Inn. Police said an older man was driving the car. He thought he hit the brake, but he hit the gas. It was an accident, officers said.

Columbia Gas was at the scene with police and firefighters late Sunday. Gas and electricity to the building were cut off.

Debbie Tyler, assistant general manager of the Fairfield Inn, said she raced through halls knocking on doors to get guests out while the other hotel employee on duty stayed at the front desk and told guests who called to evacuate. Tyler said firefighters arrived quickly and helped with the evacuation.

The hotel, with 60 rooms, was 70 percent occupied, with many of the guests in town for the September yearling sale at Keeneland, which starts Monday.
Tyler said someone came into the lobby and told hotel employees that a car had hit the side of the building. She said a piercing alarm began going off.

"We could smell it. It was really strong," she said, referring to the odor of gas. Tyler said she has been in the hotel business for 30 years and knew the alarm needed to be taken seriously. So she began knocking on doors. "I had to pull some people out of the room," she said. "People were in the shower.

"I feel very lucky that everyone got out. We're blessed; we're truly blessed."
Stacy Williams, the other employee at the hotel with Tyler, said "Debbie was just amazing. If she hadn't been here, I would've died in there."

Bill Dahlsten of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who was staying across the street at the Courtyard by Marriott, said that "all of a sudden there was a muffled explosion ... and I felt the building shake." He said the blast "blew glass almost clear into the street."

He and his wife, who were in Lexington for the weekend to visit his brother, tried to get a room at the Fairfield when they planned their trip, but it was booked, Dahlsten said, adding, "I guess that was a blessing."

Destiny Eversole, a Waffle House waitress, said the explosion shook the nearby restaurant."People were running one way and firefighters the other way."
Fairfield Inn guest Cory King said he had been staying there for a week during job training. King, who is from West Virginia, had just pulled into the parking lot when he saw a crowd running.

"I didn't know what to do," King said. "I just started running."
Thankfully, he said, he was not hurt and his car was not damaged. King has only the clothes he was wearing and his phone.

"I'm glad I was not off work, but I feel like my house burned down," he said. "This is all I have."

All of the guests staying at the Fairfield Inn were relocated to nearby hotels Sunday night.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/09/07/3417648/explosion-damages-fairfield-inn.html#storylink=cpy

Truck electrical malfunction causes garage blaze that destroys part of San Juan Capistrano home

Orange County Fire Authority officials responded around 5:40 a.m. to a fire at a single-story duplex in the 14600 block of Kimberly Lane. COURTESY OF OCFA CAPT. STEVE CONCIALDI

July 22, 2015

By ALYSSA DURANTY / STAFF WRITER

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CALIFORNIA – 

An electrical malfunction inside an older-model Ford pick-up likely sparked a blaze that spread from a garage to the attic of a duplex early Wednesday morning , officials said.

Orange County Fire Authority officials responded around 5:40 a.m. to a fire at a single-story duplex in the 24600 block of Kimberly Lane.

When 30 firefighters arrived, large flames were seen rising from a garage where a 1995 Ford pick-up truck was parked, OCFA Capt. Steve Concialdi said.

The couple who lives in the home told officials they were both awake and getting ready for work when they heard noises coming from the garage. After they saw smoke, they fled the home and called 911.

Firefighters controlled the blaze within 30 minutes, but not before $200,000 worth of damage was caused to the house and $50,000 of contents were destroyed, Concialdi said.

“Firefighters saved most of the house, including the computers,” Concialdi said. “Because the family kept the door leading from the kitchen to the garage closed, that kept the majority of the fire and smoke inside the garage and saved the rest of the house.”

Officials said the fire caused the structure’s roof to sag and it became unsafe for firefighters to enter the garage.

“Because it’s unsafe to get in there, we’re going to grab the back the pickup truck out of the garage to make sure there is no hidden fire,” Concialdi said around 7:30 a.m.

Firefighters used a Skid Steer, a functional bulldozer, to move the Ford F-150.
A Ford Escape parked in the adjacent driveway was damaged by “radiant heat,” but the surrounding homes were spared, Concialdi said.

No one was injured in the blaze and firefighters rescued two cats who were hiding underneath a bed in a back bedroom during the fire.

The couple and their cats were displaced because of the blaze and local Red Cross officials responded to help them.

CP Rail plunges after forecast cut and board departures over ‘disagreements’

Canadian PressIn its outlook, Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd (TSX:CP) it expects revenue growth this year to be two to three per cent, with an operating ratio below 62 per cent.

 

 

Kristine Owram

July 22, 2015 8:18 AM ET

 

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.’s chairman and another member of its board resigned “over disagreements relating to corporate governance matters” Tuesday, shaking shareholder confidence as the railway cut its full-year forecast in response to a slowing economy.

CP said chairman Gary Colter and director Krystyna Hoeg resigned and Andrew Reardon was elected chairman in Colter’s place. The resignations follow on the heels of Stephen Tobias’s decision to step down from the board for “personal reasons” earlier this month.

President and chief operating officer Keith Creel wouldn’t provide more details about the dispute.

“It’s a simple issue of disagreement over the governance issue,” Creel said in an interview. “It has nothing to do with the value or the performance of this company. It’s not material, the board is functioning extremely well, we’re united on a go-forward basis, and this issue is behind us.”

Although the Calgary-based company reported record net income and operating ratio — a key measure of efficiency — in the second quarter, it also lowered its full-year forecast for revenue and earnings growth, sending shares down 5.37 per cent to their lowest close in a year.

But Creel said the unexpected weakness in volumes won’t affect the railway’s four-year plan, which aims to double earnings per share from 2014 levels by 2018.

“When we wrote out our plan, we definitely had a different view on the economy,” Creel said.

“But we can make it work either way. If the economy starts to grow, which we think it will, then it’s really more of a top-line revenue growth story. … If it were to contract then we have an ability to take cost out and still produce earnings growth.”

It was left to Creel to reassure shareholders Tuesday after Harrison was forced by his doctor to take some time off.

The outspoken chief executive recently underwent surgery that Creel described as “some minor maintenance procedures to his lower extremities” and returned to work too quickly.

“Although Hunter has many great attributes, patience is not one of them,” Creel said on a conference call with analysts.

“You combine that with the fact that he’s not really accustomed to being told what to do, and he didn’t exactly follow the doctor’s orders about his recovery time.”

However, Harrison still can’t bring himself to stay away entirely, and Creel said he spent six hours on the phone with his executive team last Thursday, “roaring like a lion.”

He has reason to roar, as a combination of weak demand for steel-making coal, a slowdown in crude-by-rail shipments and a smaller grain harvest are all weighing on volumes at North America’s railways.

In the second quarter, CP’s revenue ton-miles — a measurement of the total amount of freight shipped — fell six per cent and revenue was flat at $1.65 billion. However, improvements to efficiency helped boost net income to a record quarterly high of $390 million or $2.45 a share. Operating ratio — where a lower number is better — fell 420 basis points to 60.9 per cent.

CP cut its full-year revenue growth outlook to a range of two to three per cent, down from an earlier forecast of seven to eight per cent. Earnings per share are now expected to grow approximately 20 per cent, down from an earlier forecast of more than 25 per cent.

“While the downward guidance revision may be disappointing to some (although not a surprise to us), a 20 per cent earnings growth rate this year would still be a very solid achievement in the context of a challenging volume environment,” National Bank analyst Cameron Doerksen wrote in a research note.

Creel said the railway has taken several steps to offset weaker demand, including laying off approximately 700 employees, with another 200 to 300 layoffs planned by the end of the year.

But he remains concerned about crude volumes, which fell 27 per cent in the second quarter and are now expected to be down about 15 per cent for the year.

Trains resume service into New York after power problems

The Associated Press

Last updated: Wednesday, July 22, 2015

 

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - 

For the third day in a row, Amtrak power problems on Wednesday delayed thousands of commuters from getting to and from New York City.

New Jersey Transit, which was forced to suspend service in and out of the city because of overhead wire problems, apologized on Twitter to riders, saying the "quality of the commute last few days has been unacceptable, we share your frustration." The transit agency said it had "contacted Amtrak at highest levels seeking solution."

A power outage around 5:45 a.m. Wednesday affected both tubes of the 105-year-old Hudson River Tunnel, some station tracks and portions of Sunnyside Yard in Queens, Amtrak spokesman Craig Schulz said in an email.

The problem persisted in the south tube, meaning trains had only one track available.

Power was restored by 7:45 a.m. and NJ Transit rail riders faced delays of up to 90 minutes.

There were delays on the Northeast Corridor on Tuesday when a signal problem in the Princeton area slowed trains.

A disabled train in one of the tunnels and overhead wire troubles caused delays in and out of Penn Station on Monday night when the heat and humidity made it feel like it was over 100 degrees in parts of the New York metropolitan area.

Commuters were already stewing after NJ Transit's board on July 15 approved raising fares for bus and rail riders by about 9 percent starting in October.

FRA to railroads: Notification of crude oil trains to states must continue

(Source: Federal Railroad Administration press release, July 22, 2015)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today sent a letter again instructing railroads transporting crude oil that they must continue to notify State Emergency Response Commissions (SERCs) and Tribal Emergency Response Commissions (TERCs) of the expected movement of Bakken crude oil trains through individual states and tribal regions. Since May 2014, trains with 1,000,000 gallons or more of Bakken crude oil – approximately 35 tank cars – are subject to the notification.

“Transparency is a critical piece of the federal government’s comprehensive approach to safety,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said. “DOT is committed to making certain that states and local officials have the information they need to prepare for and respond to incidents involving hazardous materials, including crude oil. The Emergency Order that requires these notifications still stands, and we expect railroads to fully comply.”

The requirement, part of an Emergency Order issued in May 2014, also directs railroads to include estimated volumes of crude oil, the frequency of anticipated train traffic, and the route the crude oil will be transported. Contact information for at least one individual at the host railroad must be provided as well. In May, the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that it would make the notification requirements of the Emergency Order permanent.

“We strongly support transparency and public notification to the fullest extent possible,” said FRA Acting Administrator Sarah Feinberg. “Railroads transporting crude oil must continue to provide the information required by the Emergency Order to SERCs and to update notifications in a timely manner. FRA will continue with random spot checks and regular compliance audits to ensure that states, local communities, and first responders have the information necessary to respond to a possible accident. FRA will take enforcement actions as necessary to ensure compliance.”

Earlier this year, the Department of Transportation (DOT), released its comprehensive rule that raises the bar on the safety of transporting crude oil by rail. The rule requires stronger tank cars and 21st century electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes that activate simultaneously on all tank cars, reduce the distance and time needed for a train to stop, and keep more tank cars on the track if a train does derail.

Read the letter below:

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), including the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), has made enhancing the safety of rail transportation of crude oil one of its top priorities. And we have improved safety by convening the railroad and energy industries, undertaking and completing a comprehensive rulemaking, and executing multiple safety advisories and emergency orders.

In all of these efforts, we have worked closely with all of you, the energy industry, Congress, and other stakeholders. When accidents have occurred, we have partnered with you, local first responders, states and others to respond quickly, provide resources, and lead or support investigations that hold many lessons and solutions to increase safety. FRA firmly believes that safety is a shared responsibility. That is why we have engaged, and will continue to engage, with your company and all stakeholders to raise the bar on safety.

In addition to establishing stronger tank car standards and requiring 21st century electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes, one of our efforts has been to ensure that critical information is provided to first responders and other local and state officials about the shipment of hazardous materials, including crude oil, through their states. Responsibly sharing this information is crucial for first responders to act quickly and to allow state and local officials to develop accurate, quality emergency plans. While federal, state, local, and tribal laws may place certain limitations on the nature and extent of information that can be shared with the public, we strongly support transparency and public notification to the fullest extent possible. And we understand the public’s interest in knowing what is traveling through their communities.

As you will remember, on May 7, 2014, DOT issued an Emergency Order requiring railroads to notify State Emergency Response Commissions (SERCs) and Tribal Emergency Response Commissions (TERCs) of the expected movement of 1,000,000 gallons or more of Bakken crude oil in a single train through the state. The emergency order required that railroads update SERCs and TERCS when a significant increase or decrease—25 percent or more in the number of trains per week—in an estimate occurs. Although the preamble to the May 2015 final rule contemplated that the Emergency Order would end in early 2016, the Department has since announced that the Emergency Order will remain in full force until DOT makes the notification requirements permanent through rulemaking. To be clear: railroads transporting crude oil must continue to provide the information required by the Emergency Order to SERCs. These notifications should also be updated in a timely manner, as specified in the order and subsequent frequently asked questions. FRA will continue with random spot checks and regular compliance audits to ensure that states, local communities and first responders have the information necessary to respond to a possible accident. FRA will take enforcement actions as necessary to ensure compliance.

I look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure that state, local and tribal officials and emergency responders have all the information they need to be prepared for and respond to any accident involving crude oil and other hazardous materials.

If you require additional information, please contact me or Karl Alexy, hazardous materials division staff director, at (202) 493-6245 or via email at: john.alexy@dot.gov.

Sincerely,

Sarah Feinberg
Acting Administrator
Federal Railroad Administrator
U.S. Department of Transportation
Wednesday, July 22, 2015

CSX provides update on W.Va. oil train derailment cleanup

more than 181,000 gallons of crude oil was recovered after the accident. About 10,000 tons of soil has been removed and shipped for disposal 

By JOHN RABY Associated Press

JULY 21, 2015

GLEN FERRIS, W.Va. 

 

CSX is continuing to closely monitor the environmental impact of a fiery oil-train derailment in southern West Virginia, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The company held a public informational meeting that drew a sparse turnout Tuesday evening at the Glen Ferris Inn.

On Feb. 16, 27 cars of a CSX train's 109 cars derailed during a snowstorm in Mount Carbon. Twenty of the cars leaked oil, some of which burned or was released into the ground.

Under a March consent order with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the railroad agreed to a long-term plan for cleaning up and restoring the area around the derailment.

"It's important for the community to know that we said we would be here," CSX spokeswoman Melanie Cost said. "This is part of that process. We want to keep the open dialogue for them."

Donna Shabdue lives near the derailment site and was forced to evacuate her home for more than a day. She showed up to the meeting to voice her concerns about local emergency response and pleaded for quickly informing the public about future incidents.

"They need to have a plan," she said. "We didn't know what to do. There needs to be a siren somewhere go off to evacuate. We didn't know what to do. I just want out of there safely."

The train was carrying 3 million gallons of Bakken crude and headed to Yorktown, Virginia. In recent years, trains hauling crude from the Bakken region of North Dakota and Montana have been involved in fiery derailments in six states.

The Federal Railroad Administration is investigating the West Virginia accident, which shot fireballs into the sky, burned down a nearby house and caused fires on the ground that smoldered for days.

The cause of the derailment hasn't been released. Speed had previously been ruled out as a factor. The FRA has said the train was going 33 mph at the time of the crash. The speed limit was 50 mph.

CSX said more than 181,000 gallons of crude oil was recovered after the accident. About 10,000 tons of soil has been removed and shipped for disposal. Additional soil removal is planned next to the Kanawha River and a tributary at the derailment site.

Air, water and soil sampling continues. The water monitoring is at five locations along the river, including a drinking water intake, because of the occasional presence of oil sheens. CSX said the local drinking water supply has been unaffected by the spill.

Oil-absorbing booms were attached to a metal wall more than 410 feet long in the river as an additional containment measure. The wall will eventually be taken down once the sheens are no longer detected, Cost said.

Cost declined to disclose how much the company has spent on the cleanup.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/news/business/national-business/article28061365.html#storylink=cpy

Yellow War of Words, For Now: China Says Japan’s East China Sea Pictures Provoke Confrontation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of many photos released by Japan’s Foreign Ministry showing 

Chinese oil and gas structures in the East China Sea. 

Photo: Japan Foreign Ministry

July 23, 2015 by Reuters

BEIJING, July 23 (Reuters) – Japan’s release of pictures of Chinese construction activity in the East China Sea will only provoke confrontation between the two countries and do nothing for efforts to promote dialog, China’s Foreign Ministry said.

In a defense review this week, Japan urged Beijing to stop building oil and gas exploration platforms close to disputed waters in the East China Sea and expressed concern that Chinese drills could tap reservoirs that extend into Japan’s waters.

In a statement late on Wednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry said it had every right to develop oil and gas resources in waters not in dispute that fall under its jurisdiction.

“What Japan did provokes confrontation between the two countries, and is not constructive at all to the management of the East China Sea situation and the improvement of bilateral relations,” it said.

In 2012, Japan’s government angered Beijing by purchasing a disputed, uninhabited island chain in the East China Sea.

Until then, Beijing had curtailed activities under a pact with Japan to jointly develop undersea resources in disputed areas.

China’s position on the pact remained unchanged and it was willing to maintain communication with Japan on related issues, the Foreign Ministry added.

“The key is for Japan to create favorable environment and conditions to implement this consensus,” it said, referring to the pact.

“Japan’s hyping up of the oil and gas issue in the East China Sea will do nothing good to carry out dialog and cooperation between China and Japan on the East China Sea-related issues.”

Tokyo worries the platforms will tap into gas fields that overlap the median line and could also be used as radar stations or bases for drones or other aircraft to monitor air and sea activity near the disputed island chain, known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Keystone Pipeline Safely Delivers Billionth Barrel of Oil

Published in Oil Industry News on Thursday, 23 July 2015

TransCanada Corporation has safely delivered the one billionth barrel of Canadian and U.S. crude oil on the Keystone Pipeline System.

The Keystone Pipeline System is one of the most extensive crude oil pipeline systems in North America, currently delivering to refineries at Wood River and Patoka, Illinois, Cushing, Oklahoma, and Port Arthur, Texas.

"This is tangible evidence of how the safe delivery of Canadian and U.S. crude oil is helping to fuel the everyday lives of the American people in the safest, most efficient and least greenhouse gas intensive way possible," said Russ Girling, TransCanada's president and CEO. "To put this achievement in perspective, it would take approximately 1.7 million train cars or 3.3 million trucks to transport one billion barrels of crude oil."

"These one billion barrels of oil have helped to fuel North American energy independence and the U.S. economic recovery, which has seen a dramatic rise in the number of oil and gas jobs as well as an increase in supply through a mix of Canadian imported and domestic production," added Girling.

Pipelines remain the safest and most efficient method of transporting large volumes of crude oil over long distances, and TransCanada continues to be committed to expanding the Keystone system with the addition of Keystone XL, a 1,179 mile pipeline between Hardisty, Alberta, and Steele City, Nebraska.
As the U.S. State Department's Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Keystone XL concluded, oil transported by rail, tanker or barge would create 28% to 42% higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than transporting the same oil through the pipeline.

In addition to lowering GHGs and transporting crude oil in the safest manner possible, Keystone XL would bring more oil from Canada and the U.S. Bakken to Americans adding another 2,200 construction jobs to Canada and 9,000 to the U.S. The State Department concluded the pipeline project would create 42,100 direct and spin-off jobs in the U.S alone during construction.

This month marks the five-year anniversary of the official start of crude oil deliveries for the 2,639-mile cross-border Keystone pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta, to markets in the American Midwest and in 2014 to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The project was granted a Presidential Permit in just under two years.

"Identical to Keystone, Keystone XL will reduce GHG emissions and improve public safety by transporting crude oil via pipeline versus rail. Keystone XL will also create tens of thousands of jobs, and oil imported from Venezuela and the Middle East would be replaced with American and Canadian oil," concluded Girling.
Source: www.worldoil.com

Selling U.S. Emergency Oil Reserve Tempts Congress to Help Pay for Highway Maintenance and other Programs

Published in Oil Industry News on Thursday, 23 July 2015

U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle figured this month they had hit on a clever way to fund everything from new drug programs to highway maintenance: sell off part of America's strategic oil reserves, a supply cushion that no longer needs to be so large.

The notion, embedded in a House of Representatives bill that passed earlier in July and in a Senate transportation bill proposed on Tuesday, has met with criticism from energy experts and economists, many calling it the right idea, but the wrong time.

A drilling revolution in the United States has left oil supplies robust at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which holds more than 695 million barrels of crude in Texas and Louisiana, just shy of its 714 million-barrel capacity that makes it the world's largest supply of government-owned emergency crude oil.

The boom helped to halve the price for a barrel of domestic crude since last summer to about $50 and cutting the value of the SPR, which holds about $35 billion worth of crude at current prices.

Furthermore, a 40-year-old ban on U.S. crude oil exports has already helped lead to a domestic oil glut, pushing down U.S. prices to more than $6 per barrel lower than the global Brent benchmark .

"Tapping the SPR and not allowing exports of domestic oil would be a catastrophe," said Amy Myers Jaffe, head of Energy and Sustainability at the University of California at Davis, and a consultant who advises governments on energy. "Oil would be trapped here and you'd hurt domestic production."

Selling oil to raise cash for projects unrelated to bolstering energy security also has stiff opponents in Senators Lisa Murkowski and Maria Cantwell, the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate energy committee.
It is uncertain whether the drugs bill and the highway bill will pass both chambers of Congress, but idea of tapping the SPR is unlikely to fade.

SLIPPERY SLOPE

The White House is reviewing the highway funding bill that includes tapping $9 billion of oil from the SPR from 2018 to 2025, an official said Tuesday.
The White House has said little, but many observers point to signs suggesting that the Obama administration is unlikely to allow a raid of the SPR.

Jason Bordoff, founding director of Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy and a former energy adviser to President Barack Obama, said even though the White House has not signaled yet that it would veto a bill that taps the SPR, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz likely laid out the administration's leaning on the reserve in his speech last month.

In the speech, Moniz said he did not agree the SPR was a less potent tool in an era of near record high oil output, while a recent federal report noted that global spare oil production capacity to deal with emergency outages was near its lowest on record.

Congressional actions that would sell SPR oil to fund miscellaneous initiatives are "a very slippery slope when our energy security needs are involved, albeit evolving," Moniz said.

Soft oil prices, the drilling boom, and lower oil imports might lead some to view the SPR a tool with diminished value in the energy security arsenal, but "we don't believe this is the case," said Moniz, a highly regarded cabinet member who played a big role in last week's Iran nuclear weapons deal.

LOWER IMPORTS BUT STILL VULNERABLE

The U.S. oil boom has slashed imports, which now means that the SPR holds 137 days' worth of U.S. crude imports, far more than the 90 days required under membership in the International Energy Agency.

Yet the world's spare oil production capacity, or the amount of crude that can quickly brought on without major investments, is below the 2.5 million-barrels-per-day level the U.S. Energy Information Administration considers oil markets to be tight.

The global cushion was 1.7 million bpd, the EIA said in late June.

The U.S. consumes 20 percent of the world's oil, meaning an disruption in the Middle East or other producing regions that pushes global crude prices up could hurt the economy, unless emergency supplies are plentiful.

The fact the United States is importing less crude, "is not a strong rationale for selling off a bunch of oil from the SPR," said Columbia University's Bordoff.
"Our economy's vulnerability to oil price spikes is determined more by how much we consume, not by how much we import."

INSTEAD, INVEST

Rather than cashing out the SPR, many experts are urging the administration to modernize it.

A recent Department of Energy study suggested it needs about $2 billion in maintenance as the oil boom disrupts infrastructure to transport oil across the country and as aging equipment limits the speed of its response.

Major pipelines have been reversed to bring oil to the refining hub on the Gulf of Mexico and some of the SPR infrastructure has not been updated since being built in 1975. Refined oil product reserves may need to be built to better supply some markets.

"Their top priority should be make sure the SPR is effective for its intended purpose by fixing it and making sure you can move the oil to market," said David Goldwyn, who coordinated global energy affairs at the State Department during Obama's first term.
Source: www.reuters.com

New MSHA online training tool will help mine operators and contractors report injuries, illnesses and accidents

JULY 23, 2015

ARLINGTON, Va. — 

Along with enforcement and technical assistance, education and training is an essential component of the Mine Safety and Health Administration's mission. To assist mine operators and contractors in complying with federal regulations to report accidents, illnesses and injuries, MSHA has created a new interactive, online training tool. 

Part 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations requires mine operators to notify MSHA of accidents, illnesses and injuries as well as report quarterly employment and production data. 

"Accidents, injuries and illnesses are key indicators of the effectiveness of a mine operator's health and safety program," said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. "This new tool helps clarify reporting requirements for mine operators so they can better document injuries and illnesses." 

"From the operator's perspective, it can serve as a road map to pinpoint where they are having problems and where they need to concentrate their efforts," Main added. "For miners, it will help them better understand the Part 50 requirements on reporting work-related injuries and illnesses. Finally, it will enhance MSHA's ability to evaluate and develop mine safety and health initiatives which benefit the entire mining industry."

The Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General raised concerns in a March 2014 report about the accurate reporting of mine injuries and illnesses by mine operators. In 2014, mine operators reported 8,176 injuries and illnesses to MSHA. 

The new online training program pulls together all available information on Part 50 in one location. Among its available resources are the Part 50 Program Policy Manual; reporting deaths on mine property; reporting roof falls; filling out forms on accidents, injuries and illnesses; access to the Mine Data Retrieval System; pattern of violations criteria; and training modules for both miners and mine operators.

NTSB Study: Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) Brakes Out-Perform Other Systems; All Systems Substantially Improved by Increased Net Braking Ratio

JULY 23, 2015

WASHINGTON, DC As part of its ongoing investigation of the derailment of a crude oil unit train in Casselton, North Dakota, today the National Transportation Safety Board produced a Train Braking Simulation Study, which it placed into the investigation docket.  The study was prompted by recent North American crude oil and ethanol train derailments that resulted in the release of large volumes of flammable liquids that endangered persons, property, and the environment. The study shows that Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) brake systems out-performed distributed power configurations, which in turn out-performed conventional brake systems. The study provides detailed description and analysis of each rail braking system and the stopping distances they achieved under various circumstances. “Over the last decade, the NTSB has investigated a number of catastrophic flammable liquid unit train derailments. Our recommendations have called for improved technologies that can reduce or minimize the risk of derailments. Improved braking capabilities are but one part of the equation in making rail transportation safer,” said NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart. The NTSB considered emergency and full service brake applications on uniform grade, tangent track with clean, dry rails. The study also evaluated the effect of different net braking ratios, which measure the amount of force applied by the brake shoes against the wheels. While ECP brake systems performed best, increasing the net braking ratio for any brake system substantially improved its stopping performance. The NTSB study was peer-reviewed by technical representatives from the Federal Railroad Administration, BNSF, TrinityRail, Standard Steel, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and Sharma & Associates, Inc. The NTSB’s investigation of the Casselton, ND accident is ongoing. Analysis of the accident, along with a determination of probable cause, will come later when the investigation is completed. To read the study, click on the following link: http://go.usa.gov/3Gz6P.

1 injured after a 1946 North American Navion plane rolled over into a pond in a field just beyond the runway of Eagles Nest Airport in Virginia

JULY 23, 2015

AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va. (WHSV) --

 Augusta County fire and rescue crews responded to a single-engine plane crash near Waynesboro on Thursday morning.

Authorities said the 1946 North American four-seater aircraft took off from Eagles Nest Airport shortly before 11 a.m.

The plane was in the process of taking off when it failed to get enough altitude, clipped a few trees, hit the banks and rolled over into a pond in a field just beyond the runway off of Red Top Orchard Road, according to state police.

The pilot, William Krause, 56, and his wife, Sharon, both from Charlottesville, were the only people on the plane and able to exit the plane on their own.

Mrs. Krause was taken to Augusta Health with minor injuries while Mr. Krause was not injured, according to state police.

Theresa Stewart, the co-owner of the property where the plane landed, said she never expected anything like this to happen.

"I was really afraid. I was concerned that there were people in there that were going to drown," said Stewart. "My husband and I rode down. When I rode down, there was someone here and the pilot and passenger were out of the plane."

The FAA has been notified and the cause of the crash landing is still under investigation.

Pete DeLea contributed to this report.

Date:	23-JUL-2015
Time:	10:56
Type:	North American Navion
Owner/operator:	Air Group 88 LLC
Registration:	N91418
C/n / msn:	NAV-4-80
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	0
Airplane damage:	Substantial
Location:	SW of Eagle's Nest Airport (W13), Waynesboro, VA -   United States of America
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Unknown
Departure airport:	Eagle's Nest (W13)
Destination airport:

Narrative:
The aircraft impacted trees following a loss of engine power during takeoff from runway 24 at Eagle's Nest Airport (W13), Waynesboro, Virginia. The airplane came to rest inverted in a shallow pond, sustaining substantial damage. One of the two related occupants onboard the aircraft received minor injuries and one was not injured.
Sources:
http://www.whsv.com/news/headlines/Crews-Responding-to-Augusta-County-Plane-Crash-318291431.html?device=tablet&c=y
http://www.newsleader.com/story/news/2015/07/23/private-plane-crash--waynesboro/30566589/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=91418
http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/000851692.html