(The following story by Tony Bizjak appeared on the Sacramento Bee website on July 6.)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Federal officials are looking into why they weren’t informed for several days that a train derailment had sent an estimated 30,000 gallons of ethanol and 500 gallons of peanut oil spilling onto a hillside above the north fork of the Feather River in Plumas County.
A boulder — described as the size of two Volkswagens — derailed 20 freight cars Saturday when it hit a Union Pacific train near Storrie on Highway 70, according to state and federal officials.
Initial reports filed that day by the state Office of Emergency Services, after contact with UP, indicated that only “a very small amount” of ethanol and “a few gallons” of peanut oil were spilled.
An OES update the next day — faxed to state and federal agencies — listed the spillage as “in the hundreds of gallons, exact quantity unknown.” The report cites the information as coming from UP.
Not until Tuesday, three days after the derailment, do the reports say an entire container holding 30,000 gallons of ethanol had spilled, said Daniel Suter, federal Environmental Protection Agency emergency response on-scene coordinator.
“We should have known beforehand,” Suter said. “We are looking at that right now. I hesitate to point a finger, because we’re not sure where the communication breakdown was.”
Suter said the federal government could issue fines if it determines “anybody is under-reporting.”
UP spokesman James Barnes declined to comment Thursday, saying he had no details on what was reported and when.
State OES spokesman Greg Renick said the derailment happened on steep terrain, and that it sometimes takes time to determine the extent of damage and spillage.
Numerous state and local agencies were on the scene for cleanup and monitoring during the week, including Quincy fire officials, representatives from the state Water Resources Control Board and the state Department of Fish and Game.
The spillage appears to have been held in check by a retaining wall above the highway, and none of the oil is believed to have reached the river, officials said.
“Local response crews didn’t see any dead fish, no strong odor and no discoloration, and there is a lot of insect life on top of the water,” said Dana Michaels, spokeswoman for the state Department of Fish & Game’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response.
“They have it under control,” Suter of the EPA reported after making a midweek site inspection. “It could have been much worse.”
Crews nevertheless placed oil retaining booms in the river below the derailment site as a precautionary measure.
UP’s Barnes said the railroad was able to reopen the rail line Wednesday.