Oil producers urge regulators not to rush rail safety rules
OTTAWA — Lobby groups representing Canadian and U.S. oil producers are asking regulators in North America not to rush into new rail safety rules that could affect the “competitiveness” of shipping products by rail.
Responding to sweeping joint recommendations made last week by the Canadian and American transportation safety agencies to retrofit existing tank cars, as well as to improve planning and analysis, two lobby groups called for more consultations and analysis on proposed regulations — which came in the wake of the 2013 Lac-Mégantic train disaster — to ensure that new rules don’t disrupt existing shipping services.
“We look to governments to implement these standards to ensure public safety, to ensure their implementation does not interrupt service and respects the competitiveness of transporting our products by rail, and that the pace of implementation is aligned with the capacity to construct or retrofit any new or existing rail cars,” sa id Dav id Pryce, the vice-president of operations of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
He added that existing regulations were “extensive.”
Pryce said his association also expected a dialogue and definition of liability for accidents to “evolve over the next few weeks and months.”
In the U.S., the American Petroleum Institute told U.S. regulators in December that it opposed new regulations, in the absence of “complete data and analysis” on the costs and benefits of retrofit options.
A spokesman for the institute told Postmedia News that it is now reviewing the new safety recommendations, saying that industry is “leading the effort” to improve safety standards.
“But the first step is to prevent derailments by addressing track defects and other root causes of train accidents,” said institute spokesman Brian Straessle.
The oil and gas industry, railway companies and tank car manufacturers say they’ve been building nextgeneration tank cars since 2011 that exceed federal standards and now make up nearly 30 per cent of the fleet.
But tens of thousands of tank cars would need to be replaced or retrofitted if the recommendations from the Transportation Safety Boards in the U.S. and Canada were turned into regulations.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said last week that shipments of oil by rail in this country have increased exponentially from about 500 car loads per year in 2009 to about 160,000 in 2013, contributing to the safety risks.
A spokeswoman for Canadian Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said that all industry stakeholders were expected to comply with regulations.
“While the new reality of oil shipment is economically beneficial, it is the Canadians and our environment along the rail lines that must be protected,” said Ashley Kelahear in an email.
“As we have stated before, should a rail company fail to follow the rules, we will not hesitate to take action. We are examining whether we need further measures to strengthen rail safety and the transportation of dangerous goods.”
The Canadian railway industry said last week it fully supported the transportation safety board recommendations.
Greenpeace Canada argued that this shows that only one group is blocking action.
“The oil industry is the only major player left resisting the move to safer rail cars,” said Keith Stewart, a climate and energy campaigner at the environmental group.
“Every day they successfully delay action puts our communities and environment at risk. It’s time for Minister Raitt to listen to her safety experts, not the oil industry lobbyists.”