Group says James River at risk of toxic disaster

Nov 12 - Daily Press (Newport News, VA)

After a pair of toxic spills and a train derailment earlier this year involving regional waterways, an advocacy group claims the James River is at risk of a toxic disaster.

The James River Association called the Lynchburg derailment of a train carrying volatile Bakken crude oil along the upper James, a chemical spill on the Elk River in West Virginia and a coal ash spill on the Dan River in North Carolina a "wake-up call" for river communities.

"Seeing the James River on fire last April 30 in Lynchburg demonstrated that the James River continues to face the risk of toxic contamination impairing its health," the group's CEO Bill Street said Monday in a conference call with reporters.

The group just launched an outreach campaign called Our River At Risk, with public discussions planned throughout the state starting this week. The first meeting in Hampton Roads is set for 6 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Jamestown Settlement. More meetings are to be held over the next year or more, officials said.

Policy specialist Adrienne Kotula said they're looking to work with Gov. Terry McAuliffe's Rail Safety and Security Task Force , federal rail safety officials and industry partners to come up with a suite of safeguards.

Among the changes they're calling for, she said, are state inspections of rail lines every week rather than every 30 days, adequate insurance to cover rail-related accidents and stricter federal standards of tank cars to handle highly combustible loads such as Bakken crude.

"Two to five trains carrying over a million gallons of crude oil are coming through the James River watershed on a weekly basis," Kotula said. "They're not just carrying run-of-the-mill crude oil -- the Bakken crude oil is actually highly volatile and more similar to gasoline than typical crude oil, which means tank cars need to be held to a higher standard than in a previous day and age."

The crude originates in the Bakken shale formation of North Dakota , where it's recovered through hydraulic fracturing. Last summer, a train carrying the crude derailed and exploded in a small town in Quebec , devastating the area and killing 47 people.

Task force member Brian Moran said Monday he has met with the James River Association and "when it comes to ensuring the safety of the James, we share the same concern for our citizens."

Moran is also Virginia's secretary of public safety and homeland security.

The task force hasn't finalized its recommendations, he said. It has held three public hearings and plans another next month, "so I don't want to be premature."

He said rail companies conduct rail inspections as well as the State Corporation Commission .

The river group is also calling for better regulation of coal ash and chemical storage sites.

The chemical and coal ash storage spills occurred in neighboring states, Kotula said, but the group's review of Virginia Department of Environmental Quality records shows there are 1,100 toxic chemical storage sites throughout the James watershed.

Only petroleum storage -- which represent only about 25 percent of total sites -- is regulated, she said. The remaining sites are for a "vast array" of chemical storage, with no state regulatory standards in place.

"I think there are definitely significant gaps in Virginia's regulatory structure," Kotula said.

The chemicals are used in such industries as paper and chemical manufacturing, fertilizer facilities and power plants. Kotula said the group is trying to work with industry "partners" to recognize and address issues of concern.

"We do believe we can do better," Kotula said. "We believe that, by working with industry, we can get a standard set of practices for chemical storage maintenance inspection of these sites throughout the watershed and make sure drinking water is protected."

Some 37 counties and 18 cities rely on the river as a major source of drinking water.

There are five coal ash facilities on the watershed, she said, from Covington to Chesapeake . There's also a coal ash landfill in Yorktown .

For more information on the upcoming public meetings, go to http://www.jamesriverassociation.org .

Staff writer Travis Fain contributed to this story.

Dietrich can be reached by phone at 757-247-7892.

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