oil trains
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Railway ordered to pay tribe $400 million for trespassing with oil trains
A federal judge has ordered BNSF Railway to pay nearly $400 million to the Swinomish Tribe for repeatedly trespassing with oil trains across their reservation.
In short:
- BNSF Railway intentionally ran 100-car crude oil trains across the Swinomish reservation, violating a 1991 easement limiting trains to 25 cars per day.
- The tribe sued in 2015, leading to a ruling that BNSF profited significantly from the trespassing, resulting in the large financial judgment.
- The tribe expects BNSF to appeal the ruling, which includes both profits from the trespassing and additional post-tax profits.
Key quote:
“We know that this is a large amount of money. But that just reflects the enormous wrongful profits that BNSF gained by using the Tribe’s land day after day, week after week, year after year over our objections.”
— Steve Edwards, chairman of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
Why this matters:
The Swinomish Tribe, located in Washington State, has long fought to protect its lands and waters from the risks associated with transporting hazardous materials like crude oil. The judge's decision emphasizes the importance of honoring agreements with Native American tribes and the need for companies to respect tribal sovereignty. For the Swinomish, the ruling is a significant victory that will provide much-needed funds to address the environmental impacts and potential risks posed by these unauthorized trains.
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Credit: Darla Hueske/Unsplash
Utah's oil train project seeks Supreme Court intervention
A coalition in Utah has petitioned the Supreme Court to reconsider a court ruling that halted a railway project due to environmental concerns.
In short:
- Utah's Seven County Infrastructure Coalition is challenging a decision that blocked an oil train railway over environmental review concerns.
- The coalition argues for a limited scope of environmental review, referring to a 2004 Supreme Court decision.
- Legal opponents and environmental groups remain critical, emphasizing the project's violation of federal laws and its potential harm.
Key quote:
“This appeal is a last-ditch attempt to dodge environmental laws to facilitate a climate train wreck."
— Wendy Park, senior attorney, Center for Biological Diversity
Why this matters:
The safety of transporting oil by rail has been a pressing concern for communities along these routes. Accidents can lead to explosions and fires, posing immediate danger to residents and causing evacuations, property damage, and, in the worst cases, loss of life.
A half year after the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, independent researchers said their work contradicted the government narrative that the area is safe.
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Norfolk Southern pays $1 million to Pennsylvania communities for relief after train derailment
Western communities affected by the February train derailment have received financial support from the railroad company to help with relief.
FracTracker Alliance/Flickr/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/Photo citation: Ted Auch, FracTracker Alliance, 2023.
Editorial: Remember the Ohio train derailment? The U.S. is still waiting for fixes.
No community in America deserves to be the next East Palestine. To protect them, the Senate should pass the bipartisan Railway Safety Act.
Jeroen van Lieshout/Flickr
Colorado lawmakers seek suspension of Utah oil train project
Sen. Bennet and Rep. Neguse wrote a letter to Agriculture Secretary Vilsack urging him to formally suspend a Utah rail project.
www.nationalobserver.com
U.S. analysts predict more oil by rail as cross-border pipeline debates rage
The fierce debate over cross-border pipelines is putting more Canadian oil and gas on trains destined for the United States — a country experts fear is ill-equipped for the potential consequences.
www.invw.org
A thin green line with global impact
Activists in Cascadia blocked nearly every effort to use the region's ports to expand the global fossil fuel trade between 2004 and 2017.
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