SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director Doug Scott has asked the Illinois Attorney General's office to proceed with enforcement action against the Canadian National/Illinois Central Railroad, as a result of a recent train derailment which resulted in a large ethanol release causing fires and contamination of state waters, the Environmental News Service reported.
The spilled ethanol is suspected as the cause of one of the largest fish kill events in Illinois history.
On June 19, 2009, a 114 car Canadian National train was traveling east from Freeport to Chicago when 14 tank cars, each containing 30,000 gallons of a mixture of 95-97 percent ethanol and 3-5 percent gasoline, derailed. The incident occurred sometime between about 8:35 pm and 8:50 pm, at the Mulford Road Crossing (mile post 80) in the southeast section of Rockford and Perryville.
Twelve of the derailed cars caught on fire, and the Illinois EPA said the majority of these cars' contents, about 360,000 gallons, were consumed in the blaze.
The two other derailed tanker cars that did not burn were breached and released their contents into the environment. An estimated quantity of 55,000 to 75,000 gallons of ethanol was released to the surrounding soils and into a nearby creek that is a tributary to the Kishwaukee River, said the state EPA.
The response involved at least 26 fire departments. While some of the fire was extinguished by water, local fire officials determined that the best course of action was to let the ethanol burn to minimize its impact on the nearby creek.
The intense fire caused the death of one motorist and sent nine others to hospital. About 600 homes in the surrounding half mile area were evacuated out of a concern for potential vapor releases, explosions and fire.
On June 21, Father's Day, a fish kill was identified by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources on the Rock River. The IDNR believes that the fish kill is related to the ethanol spill that originated in Rockford, although to date this has not been confirmed.
The kill is believed to have started on Father's Day weekend two miles north of Grand Detour and ended nearly 50 miles downstream near Prophetstown.
IDNR fisheries biologists spent the next several days on the river counting, measuring and sorting affected fish into species.
The investigation yielded a preliminary estimate of over 72,000 fish killed with an associated value of over $272,000. Biologists estimate nearly 37,000 game fish were killed, including catfish, smallmouth bass and walleye. They estimated that over 34,000 commercial fish, including buffalo and carp, also were killed.
The IDNR considers these estimates to be "very conservative," saying that extremely high temperatures contributed to the rapid decomposition of the fish, and flooding conditions along parts of the Rock River made it difficult to get a more accurate count.
The Illinois EPA has requested the Illinois Attorney General to require that Canadian National conduct sampling of dead fish to conclusively determine whether or not the fish kill was attributable to the release of ethanol. The railroad should also prepare and submit an aquatic restocking plan for the Rock River and the Kishwaukee River, says the state agency.
As part of the requested remedy, the state agency wants the railroad to implement a sampling plan for the soils and groundwater in the area where the derailment and fire took place, as well as along the path traveled by the liquid ethanol from the derailed tank cars to the creek that leads to the Kishwaukee River.
Canadian National also should submit all sampling results to the Illinois EPA, and perform necessary cleanups, the agency said.
In addition, said the state agency, Canadian National should conduct a well survey of community water supply and private wells in the area, arrange for sampling of these wells and, if needed, provide an alternative source of drinking water.
Finally, the Illinois EPA wants the railroad company to remedy any environmental damage and perform all necessary repairs to property damaged by the derailment.
(The preceding report appeared on the Web site www.ens-newswire.com on July 6, 2009.)
Share:ShareThis Print Comment Back Home Train derails: Fingers likely to point By Corina Curry RRSTAR.COM Posted Jul 06, 2009 @ 12:19 AM Last update Jul 06, 2009 @ 12:59 AM ROCKFORD As the dust settles at the scene of last months fiery train derailment in southeast Winnebago County and the victims heal or are put to rest, the question becomes: Whos to blame and how much will they pay?
There has been loss of life, serious and minor injuries suffered and property damage. There also may be emotional scars, lifelong physical impairments and issues that have yet to surface, including possible environmental damage and health risks caused by the trains leaking ethanol tankers.
There will be medical bills, lost wages and inconvenience costs stemming from a 600-home, 21-hour evacuation. There will be costs associated with emergency response.
Area lawyers say these losses and damages already are, or are soon to be, the basis of claims against Canadian National Railway, the operator of the 114-car train that derailed and exploded June 19 across South Mulford Road.
The legal issues that likely will arise from the train derailment will focus on liability, Rockford attorney Frank Perrecone said. The people who suffered damages because of the derailment will want to know whether the train operator did everything it could do to prevent the accident and whether the rail bed owner did everything it was supposed to do to properly maintain the tracks, he said.
The National Transportation Safety Boards investigation into the derailment, which is expected to last a year, should shed some light on those questions.
These types of cases typically come down to the operation of the train and whether the rail bed was properly maintained and inspected, Perrecone said. Its a well-known phenomenon that we get heavy rains in northern Illinois, but just because you get a heavy rain doesnt mean you should get a washout. The National Transportation Safety Boards main focus likely is going to be maintenance procedures employed by the railroad. Theyre not just going to chalk it up to an act of God.
Itll come down to negligence, Rockford attorney Chuck Prorok said.
Any attorney looking at this will look at the operator because of the potential issues involving possible negligence on their part, Prorok said. Theyll look at the owner of the tracks for the same reason. People would look at that particular area and see if its subject to being rained out often and if the recent rainfall caused the washout. If it washed out before, and they didnt correct it either by design or having someone come out and look at it, someone would want to look at that.
Canadian National spokesman Patrick Waldron said the railroad will soon enter negotiations with fire departments and police agencies to determine what emergency response reimbursement costs the company will cover, but declined to comment on whether any individual claims from injured parties have been filed or discussed.
In recent years, similar train derailments across the country have resulted in multi- million-dollar settlements for the families of people killed and those who were seriously injured. Some cases, especially those involving the release of harmful chemicals because of a train crash, evolved into class-action lawsuits, the plaintiffs being those who were displaced from their nearby homes.
Minnesota attorney Gordon Rudd of Zimmerman Reed, who represented more than 1,000 people and a class of victims from a 2002 train derailment in Minot, S.D., said liability in that case was a slam dunk because trains arent supposed to come off their tracks.
In fact, he said, Canadian Pacific Railway admitted negligence because they knew their conduct was so egregious and didnt want those facts dragged out in front of a jury. In those settlements and trials, the focus was on whether the rail companys conduct caused the injuries and to what extent.
In the Minot case, litigation went on for the better part of six years.
It was a pretty epic battle, Rudd said.
So far, no lawsuits have been filed because of the June 19 derailment in Winnebago County. OFallon attorney Bob Marcus is representing three of the victims the three men who suffered burns as they fled from a van on the north side of the tracks. The sole fatality of the crash, Zoila Tellez, 41, was in another van stopped south of the tracks.
Perrecone believes calls from the countys 911 center to the railroad company 20 minutes before the derailment could hurt the companys ability to argue that they practiced due care. A sergeant at the center called the railroad company that night to warn it of a potentially dangerous washout along the tracks just west of South Mulford Road.
It could be very damaging if its learned that it could have been avoided with proper communication, he said.
Rail companies tend to know where their trains are at every moment, Rudd said. Given the information about the 911 calls, it appears that the company would have had enough time to pull the brake. If they got notice of 21 minutes, they should have been able to contact the conductor.
Local attorneys said claims from people who suffered damages because of the derailment also could try point the finger of blame at local governments. That could be the case if its learned that any agencies played a role in the washout of the tracks that witnesses reported seeing just before the derailment or if emergency services agencies failed to respond properly to the danger posed by the washout.
Local branches of government have immunities built into the law, however, Perrecone said. And duty-of-care claims against governments typically fail, Prorok said.
There is a broad array of immunities when youre talking about asserting a claim against a governmental body, Perrecone said. The argument that because theyre responsible for enforcing the law so they have a duty to the public at large has been largely discredited by the courts.
For example, someone is calling 911. Police go to the residence and get no response. They later learn that the perpetrator was in the building, kept the victim at bay and harms them after police leave. Are police responsible? Were they negligent? Courts have largely said no.
Dozens of people who were part of the mandatory evacuation that followed the derailment received money from Canadian National Railway last week as compensation for any inconveniences.
Those who received reimbursements were required to sign waivers of future claims against Canadian National.
Its a common tactic by railroad companies, Rudd said. The railroads know what theyre up to. This release issue drives me crazy.
They come in and pay people a couple of hundred dollars, but people dont understand they may have some real and serious claims down the road. Id hate to be the parent who takes $200 and then has their son develop a cough and then find out its something related to the ethanol. Even if they didnt suffer injuries, theres the emotional distress. Its a huge interruption of life. These derailments are occurring more and more. As they increase in frequency, they are eliminating these residents sense of safety and well-being in their homes.
Residents of the evacuation zone said the company offered them inconvenience reimbursements of $50 for adults and $25 for children, reimbursements for hotel rooms, a food allowance and, in some cases, money for expenses incurred for items like clothes.
Waldron declined to comment on how many people received payments and how much money was issued.
Prorok believes the company was trying to be responsible and mitigate any damages that they may have to pay.
Perrecone thinks people may have been taken advantage of.
Whether an environmental problem is going to turn up and cause a long-term risk for people in that area always remains a potential possibility, he said. The railroad comes in and gives them a nominal amount of money, and what if two or three years down the road, due to the ethanol, theres a health risk? You can bet that if a claim is brought by someone who signed a waiver, the railroad company is going to make that Exhibit A.
Reach staff writer Corina Curry at ccurry@rrstar.com or 815-987-1371.
