Rep. Ron Kind Urges Department of Transportation to Help Make Bakken Crude Oil Less Dangerous

Washington, DC – U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) sent a letter today to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Anthony Foxx pushing the agency to make Bakken crude oil safer and less combustible.

“As more and more of this volatile oil moves through our communities, we need to implement appropriate safety measures to reduce the risk of fatal accidents on our rail system,” said Rep. Kind. “DOT is taking steps in the right direction by moving to phase out old tank cars and reducing speed limits, but action needs to be taken immediately to make the Bakken crude oil moving through Wisconsin less dangerous.”

While the amount of crude oil being transported by rail is skyrocketing (up 4,000 percent in the last five years) in Wisconsin and across the nation, train derailments and fuel spills are occurring with more frequency. Rep. Kind’s letter asks the DOT to further examine the practice of oil “stabilization,” a process that removes the most volatile elements of crude oil in order to make it less combustible and therefore safer to transport. A company in Texas has already begun stabilizing its crude oil at a reasonable cost.

Most of the crude oil moved through pipelines is required to be stabilized, but there is no requirement for crude oil that is shipped by rail. Bakken crude has been found to be much more volatile than most other types of heavier crude oil.

Rep. Kind has been a vocal advocate for improved rail safety in Wisconsin and nationwide. Earlier this year he joined a bipartisan group of colleagues in sending a letter to the Federal Railroad Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) asking for prompt action to improve rail safety. He later sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee that calls for increased funding for rail safety programs. Rep. Kind also introduced a bipartisan amendment passed by the House of Representatives last month to increase funding for the PHMSA’s operational account by $500,000. Additionally, he has been continuing to push for enhanced track inspections, upgrades to train tracks, and community-wide transparency regarding the contents of trains.

A copy of the letter sent to Secretary Foxx can be found here.