Several accidents involving trains carrying volatile crude oil have spooked politicians in Albany who are fearful of similar incidents occurring in the state capital and other New York communities. For his part, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has issued an executive order calling for review of safety regulations and emergency response preparedness for the shipment of North Dakota volatile crude oil by rail into the state.
While commendable, this research is unlikely to protect Albany residents from the 40,000 carloads of oil that rush into the Port of Albany every year. Instead of calling for more paperwork, Cuomo's efforts would be better spent calling on President Barack Obama to approve the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline.
Cuomo is understandably concerned about the risks of crude oil traveling through Albany. North Dakota's version is particularly dangerous, as it is lighter, more flammable, and has a lower flash point than most oil. The same crude that runs through Albany caused the explosion that devastated a Quebec town in July, killing 47 people and burning down many of its buildings and homes, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
Unfortunately, Cuomo's executive order will have little practical impact. The governor's hands are tied when it comes to instituting new regulations that affect interstate commerce. Federal cooperation and regulation of this volatile substance are needed to ensure responsible transportation practices. Given political realities, new rail safety regulations could take years and may be inadequate. Why wait that long, when a simple solution exists?
The Keystone XL pipeline has the potential to take 1 million barrels of crude oil off hazardous rail cars and out of our communities each day. The project's environmental impact statement, prepared at the request of the Obama administration, estimates the contribution of $3.4 billion of additional income to the U.S. economy from the pipeline, and identifies zero preferred alternatives.
The rapid increase in rail shipments of North Dakota crude oil through the country is partly in response to the halted progress of the Keystone XL pipeline due to environmental concerns. The Obama administration report shows these concerns are largely unfounded.
The report concluded that the pipeline would likely not have any effect on the amount of oil produced and therefore no net effect on global warming. In fact, transporting crude oil by rail will increase greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 40 percent in comparison to the much safer mode of transportation the pipeline offers.
The Obama administration has spent nearly five and a half years deciding whether or not to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.
During this time, forty-seven people have died and millions of dollars in economic losses have been incurred as an unintended consequence of this indecisiveness.
If Cuomo is truly concerned about the risks of crude oil traveling by rail in our communities, then he should spend time calling on Obama to act.
That will make our communities far safer than his executive order ever could