BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. railroads forced to turn over
details of their volatile crude oil shipments are asking states to sign
agreements not to disclose the information. But some states are
refusing, saying Thursday that the information shouldn’t be kept from
the public.
Federal officials last month ordered railroads to make
the disclosures after a string of fiery tank-car accidents in North
Dakota, Alabama, Virginia and Quebec, where 47 people died when a
runaway oil train exploded in the town of Lac-Megantic.
The
disclosures due midnight Saturday include route details, volumes of oil
carried and emergency-response information for trains hauling 1 million
gallons or more of crude. That’s the equivalent of 35 tank cars.
BNSF,
Union Pacific and CSX are seeking agreements that the information won’t
be publicly shared. They said the information is security sensitive and
releasing it could put them at a competitive disadvantage.
State
emergency officials said communities need to know about the trains and
the proposed agreements would violate open-records laws.
"Our
state statutes prohibit us from signing," said Lori Getter with
Wisconsin Emergency Management. "It will help the responders to make
sure they are fully prepared and trained to respond to a potential
incident. But it’s also good to let the community know."
In
addition to Wisconsin, Montana, Illinois, North Dakota, Idaho and
Washington state also have declined so far to sign the agreements,
according to state emergency officials. Other states have said they
intend to meet the railroads’ requests.
In Colorado, South Dakota,
Iowa and Oregon, the confidentiality proposals are under review by
attorneys and no decision has been made, officials said. Officials in
Virginia said they intend to make the information public.
U.S.
crude oil shipments topped 110,000 carloads in the first quarter of
2014. That’s an estimated 3.2 billion gallons of crude and the highest
volume ever moved by rail, the Association of American Railroads said
Thursday. It’s spurred by booming production in the Northern Plains.
The
May 7 federal order covered oil shipments by rail from the Bakken
region of North Dakota, Montana and parts of Canada. The Bakken produces
a light, sweet crude that is highly volatile and contains more
flammable gases than heavier oils such as from the tar sands region of
Canada.
Federal officials have said sharing information on Bakken
shipments is crucial for local firefighters and other emergency
responders to be prepared for accidents.
Railroads that fail to
comply face penalties of $175,000 per day and a prohibition against
moving Bakken oil. But officials indicated Thursday that there will be
flexibility in how the rules are enforced.
"Although we will
aggressively monitor compliance, we will also consider extenuating
circumstances as railroads work with states to ensure information about
the shipment of crude oil is appropriately provided," said Federal
Railroad Administration Associate Administrator Kevin Thompson.
CSX
spokesman Gary Sease said the company is providing the information now
and asking that the confidentiality agreements be returned with 30 days.
"If
the states do not provide those signed confidentiality agreements, we
will not be able to provide subsequent updated information," Sease said.
The agreements are necessary "for security reasons and for competitive
reasons," he said.
Union Pacific also was providing the
information to at least some states, but officials from several states
said BNSF so far has not.
A BNSF spokeswoman said the railroad
company will turn over information to states and will trust them to
treat the data as confidential and provide it only to those with a "need
to know" and with the understanding that those who receive it will
continue to treat it as confidential.
"It is important to remember
that the intent of the Emergency Order is to ensure first responders
have access to necessary information so they can prepare their response
plans," BNSF’s Roxanne Butler said in a statement.
Louisiana, New
Jersey and California officials said they do not intend to release the
information they receive to the public. Louisiana State Police Capt.
Doug Cain said there would be security concerns associated with
releasing the routes, although the state plans to make sure local
officials have the information.