Crude by rail is an expanding threat, but not the only threat. Spills also happen throughout the life cycle of oil – pipelines, production, trucks, and storage facilities, to name a
few. In California, there are more than 7,000 rail crossings over waterways and more than
5,000 pipeline crossings. All it takes is one spill to cause irreversible losses to California’s
natural resources and environment and jeopardize public health.
On May 15th, 2014 Los Angeles narrowly escaped an oil pipeline spill of 15,100 gallons in Atwater Village located close to the LA River. There was no contingency plan for
this section of pipeline, and the spill was thankfully prevented from reaching the river by
quick thinking fire fighters that used dirt from a
nearby concrete plant to
create berms that contained
the oil. We got lucky. We
should not have to rely on
luck; we’ve needed this
OSPR expansion to facilitate efficient and effective
responses to oil spills that
help protect our waterways
from the potentially disastrous effects of such spills.
This affects Los Angeles,
where local refineries are
implementing changes
to receive crude-by-rail.
Over two months ago, LA
got a break when Valero
withdrew its South Coast
Air Quality Management
District permit application
After a train derailment, 50,000 gallons of crude oil spilled into the
to build a rail terminal at
Jame River, Lynchburg, Virginia 4/30/2014
its refinery in Wilmington.
Los Angeles Waterkeeper is
working to prevent oil spills, which sometimes means preventing the implementation of
hazardous projects. Because our civilization still depends on large amounts of oil and gas,
we also represent environmental interests in preparedness and response planning, being
active members on the Los Angeles/Long Beach Area Committee and California Department of Fish and Wildlife OSPR Technical Advisory Committee.
Los Angeles is large and diverse, and the people and habitats deserve a comprehensive oil
spill program. Thank you to OSPR staff for responding to this great need, and the legislators that voted for this critical protection (vote tracking here).
TM