(The following editorial appeared at SaukValley.com on July 6.)
NELSON, Calif. — If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.
Regarding its obligation to clean up coal cars that derailed more than two months ago west of Nelson in Lee County, the Union Pacific Railroad has found an excuse.
A railroad spokesman, James Barnes, told our newspaper scheduled maintenance work on the section of track where the derailment happened took precedence over cleaning up the derailed coal cars. Because the 14-car derailment took place on a small sliver of land just west of the railroad bridge over the Rock River, there wasn’t enough room for maintenance employees and cleanup crews to work side by side.
Therefore, the company decided to do the track maintenance and hold off on the derailment cleanup.
Never mind the festering eyesore this derailment has caused to neighbors and recreational boaters.
Never mind that three rail cars and some spilled coal still rest in the waters of the Rock River.
The railroad believes it has acted responsibly by putting a floating barrier in the river to separate its spilled coal and derailed cars from the rest of the water.
“We recognize it is an eyesore, and apologize for the inconvenience. We are looking at getting it cleaned up by sometime in August,” Barnes said.
Hmm. The cars derailed April 29 and they’re talking about postponing the cleanup until August.
Excuse us, but that’s no way to run a railroad.
This cleanup delay is an excessively long time to wait, particularly for neighbors, boaters and anglers.
We understand railroad tracks aren’t the same as public highways and byways. The railroad owns its tracks, while roads are owned by the state, county, city, village or township. Still, it’s inconceivable that a spill of such magnitude on a public road would be allowed to remain for four months. Why should a railroad be that much different?
While a spokeswoman for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said the derailed cars and spilled coal are not an environmental threat, her agency expected a rapid cleanup. As of earlier this week, the railroad had not even submitted a cleanup plan to the agency.
Initially, local law enforcement officials stated their belief the derailed cars would be removed in short order. After the derailment, Lee County Sheriff John Varga told our paper the railroad told him it would take about five days to clean up the mess. A neighbor, Terry Winchell, said he contacted the Illinois State Police two weeks after the derailment and was told the cleanup would be finished in three weeks. It’s been more than nine weeks since the derailment, and nothing’s been done.
We have no doubt if this derailment happened anywhere near railroad headquarters, it would have been cleaned up in speedy fashion, not put on the back burner.
Union Pacific bills itself as the largest railroad in the nation, serving 23 states with more than 8,000 locomotives, 100,000 freight cars and 51,000 employees. Yes, it’s big and it’s busy, but that shouldn’t stop it from doing the right thing when it makes a mess – clean it up fast.
If railroad officials really want to do this, they’ll ditch the excuses and find a way. Time’s a-wasting.