(The following article by Cynthya Porter appeared on the Winona Post website on May 10, 2009.)
WINONA, Minn. — Union Pacific stepped forward Wednesday to say one of its locomotives was responsible for the oil that peppered homes, yards and cars on Front Street last Friday, prompting residents to make a complaint to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
According to company spokesman Mark Davis, a crew was moving cars along the track that faces Front Street and adjoins Bay State Milling Friday when they noticed the locomotive was spraying a fine mist of oil from its stack when the engine was revved.
The amount of oil coming from the stack appeared to be small, Davis said, and the crew did not realize the wind was catching it and blowing it across the street onto neighboring property.
The crew reported the engine’s unusual behavior to operations staff who removed the engine from service and sent it to a rail yard in Milwaukee for closer examination.
But that maintenance order did not intersect with the Union Pacific environmental team, Davis said, because the problem seemed minimal. “The crew noticed it every once in a while and did not know the extent to which it sprayed on the houses and cars,” he said.
MPCA officials said Tuesday they were investigating the oily residue left between High Forest and Chatfield streets, and that Canadian Pacific, which owns the rail running along that stretch, had already begun cleanup.
At the same time, Canadian Pacific was denying responsibility for the oil, noting that Union Pacific also uses the rails there.
Davis said Union Pacific had no knowledge of the oil residue or MPCA complaint until contacted by the media Tuesday.
Tracing the work order from Friday to the problem was easy once they knew about it, Davis said, and Union Pacific was stepping in to take over cleanup efforts by Wednesday morning.
Davis praised Canadian Pacific for their quick action towards cleanup, saying the nature of their industry has evolved to one that is concerned about the environment, including its inhabitants, first and foremost. “Protect the environment first and worry about who is responsible later,” he said. “That’s why CP started right away, saying, ‘We don’t think it’s us, but it’s the right thing to do.’”
Davis said Union Pacific will use the same cleanup crew already brought to the site by Canadian Pacific to streamline completion. Also, he said, a Union Pacific insurance adjuster was en route to Winona to meet with homeowners about damages.
An environmental report showed that a small quantity of oil misted the neighborhood, most of which could be cleaned safely off of surfaces affected. Some vegetation will have to be replaced, Davis said, though the entirety of it could likely fit into a 50-gallon drum. He expected cleanup to be complete by the end of the week.