(The San Francisco Chronicle published the following story by Chuck Squatriglia on its website on August 2.)
SAN FRANCISCO — Frustrated by what they call an alarming number of derailments along the upper Sacramento River, state regulators and environmentalists urged greater oversight of the railroad industry.
Among the steps they want taken are regulatory control over speeds at which trains travel; guidelines dictating how many cars a train can pull and how they are configured; and rigid inspection and maintenance schedules. Currently,
such guidelines are left solely to the railroads.
Their calls came as it was learned that one car in the Union Pacific freight train that partly derailed Thursday in Siskiyou County contained a highly toxic acid, which fortunately did not spill.
In what was the railroad’s third derailment in upper Sacramento River canyon since 2000, five railcars tumbled into the river near Dunsmuir and nine others were left sprawled along its bank. Each of the toppled cars was empty, and the mishap caused no significant environmental damage.
Still, it occurred near Cantara Loop, where a 1991 Southern Pacific Railroad derailment sent nearly 20,000 gallons of herbicide into the Sacramento River, killing nearly everything for 40 miles downstream.
Information released Friday suggests Thursday’s accident could have been equally devastating. A Union Pacific official confirmed that one of the 89 railcars navigating the steep and winding tracks contained hydrochloric acid, a highly corrosive and potentially lethal toxin.
Had the acid contaminated the river, it could have destroyed everything for miles downstream, said Jim Pedri, assistant executive officer of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board office in Redding.
“Depending upon the concentration, it also would have caused a toxic cloud that could have been very serious not to just wildlife, but humans as well,” Pedri said.
Union Pacific spokesman John Brumley could not say how much acid the car contained or in what concentration. It was one of three cars carrying cargo; the other two carried lumber and wallboard, he said.
Authorities were still investigating what caused Thursday’s accident. The state Public Utilities Commission, which holds some oversight over the rail industry, reported that early indications suggest a mechanical problem with one of the cars.
Fears of another Cantara Loop-like disaster have environmentalists demanding that state and federal regulators crack down on an industry they say enjoys little oversight.
Although many environmentalists and the state PUC credit Union Pacific with working diligently to prevent accidents and improving its safety record, they argue the number of derailments and close calls since the Cantara Loop disaster underscores the need for greater action.
“I think their heart is in the right place, but they’re not doing a good enough job,” said Gary Seput, executive director of California Trout. “It’s time to fix this problem. This absolutely has to stop.”
California Trout and Upper Sacramento River Exchange, a nonprofit funded in part by reparations Southern Pacific Railroad paid after the Cantara Loop spill, are launching a campaign to pressure lawmakers, the state PUC and the Federal Railroad Administration to increase regulation over the railroads.
“We’ve been battling for years now with the railroads in court,” said Patrick Berdge, a PUC attorney. “That is why people have not seen any state oversight of the railroad.”
The PUC in 1997 issued rules governing employee training, track standards and how railcars are configured. Lawyers for Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Railroad — the only long-haul railroads operating in California — argued the regulations violated federal law and would lead to a chaotic patchwork of rules. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed in June; the PUC is weighing an appeal.
Union Pacific officials said they share the same concerns as the environmentalists and work tirelessly to prevent derailments.