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[CNJRoss]

WV DEP/Joint Information Center news release:

 

 UPDATE 6 - WEST VIRGINIA TRAIN DERAILMENT RESPONSE

2/20/2015

MONTGOMERY, W. Va. — Response teams with the West Virginia Train Derailment continue to serve the community, and the continual restoration, recovery and clean-up operations at the site, Friday. Residents evacuated from Adena Village and Mount Carbon were allowed to return to their homes Friday morning.

Environmental protective and monitoring measures remain in place on land, air and in both Armstrong Creek and the Kanawha River. Air and water monitoring are on-going, and results continue to demonstrate no impact to the air quality or the waterways. Air and water monitoring results are available of the EPA website here: https://www.epaosc.o...px?site_id=9762.

The Unified Command is making preparations to ensure responders remain safe for impending inclement weather. The command is also bringing additional resources to contain an unknown amount of oil trapped in the ice from entering the waterways.

One lane of West Virginia Route 61 was also reopened Friday. Police escorts are stationed along the highway to ensure drivers follow safety and security procedures.

“Drivers are reminded to use only the open lane and are asked to use caution when driving along Route 61 as equipment and crew members continue to work and stage clean-up efforts nearby,” said Dennis Matlock, response Federal On Scene Coordinator. “We are pleased that residents were able to safely return to their homes. Ensuring the safety of residents and response teams has and will continue to be our first priority.”

CSX has temporarily relocated its Outreach Center to Valley High School in Smithers this weekend, to accommodate increased volume as residents return to their homes. Valley High School is located on Greyhound Lane in Smithers. The Outreach Center is open 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. The Outreach Center at the Glen Ferris Inn will be closed Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but will re-open on Monday to address any remaining resident needs.

Residents are reminded to bring a form of identification (driver’s license or government ID) and AEP power bill to the Outreach Center. Residents are encouraged to bring any receipts documenting evacuation-related expenses. Households that experienced extended power outages must have the person whose name is on the bill present in order to receive compensation. If possible, only one household representative should come to check in at the Outreach Center.

Residents with questions who cannot reach the Outreach Center may contact 1-877-TellCSX (1-877-835-5279).

[CNJRoss]

WV DEP / Joint Information Center news release:

 

Update 7 - WV Train Derailment Response

2/21/2015

MONTGOMERY, W. Va. — Response teams with the West Virginia Train Derailment continue their progress assisting the community, restoring the environment and repairing the rail transportation system on Saturday.

Residents are alerted that W. Va. Route 61 will be fully closed from 9 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday for equipment repositioning. Response teams are working with first responders to ensure emergency vehicle access during the road closure, if necessary. One lane will reopen to traffic following the designated closure. The Unified Command is working with the West Virginia Department of Transportation to regularly plow the road, and police escorts are stationed along the road to ensure drivers follow safety and security procedures.

“Safety continues to be the Unified Command’s top priority as response teams continue restoration, recovery and clean-up operations,” said Dennis Matlock, response Federal On Scene Coordinator. “We advise response teams, drivers and residents to exercise caution given the winter weather conditions.”

On Saturday, response teams continued pumping product from the derailed cars. Teams are also working with regulatory and environmental agencies to begin preparations for removing remaining rail cars to a CSX rail yard nearby.

Officials from the Federal Railroad Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration have teams of inspectors on site and are now positioning to begin a full-scale investigation into the cause of the derailment.

Environmental response teams continue to restore the incident site and recover product, with a multi-part containment strategy in place to help minimize impacts on the environment. In addition to containment trenches on the embankment and boom in the creek, vacuum operations continue to capture any existing product on the ice and shoreline. Locking steel sheet panels are being installed through the ice to physically contain any oil as temperatures rise and ice melts.

Environmental experts continue air monitoring efforts to ensure levels are safe for the public. Air and water quality reports are available online through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website at: http://www.epaosc.or...px?site_id=9762.

The CSX Outreach Center remains open at Valley High School in Smithers this weekend, to accommodate the needs of residents who have returned to their homes. Valley High School is located on Greyhound Lane in Smithers. The Outreach Center is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, the Outreach Center will relocate back to the Glen Ferris Inn, and remain open to address resident needs.

Residents visiting the center are reminded to bring a form of identification (driver’s license or government ID) and AEP power bill. Residents are encouraged to bring any receipts documenting evacuation-related expenses. Households that experienced extended power outages must have the person whose name is on the bill present in order to receive compensation. If possible, only one household representative should come to check in at the Outreach Center.

Residents who are not able to visit the Outreach Center can request compensation by mailing a letter that includes name, home address (P. O. Boxes not accepted), phone number, social security number and a photocopy of your driver’s license to the following address:

CSX Transportation
Attention: Mount Carbon accident response team
935 7th Avenue
Huntington, WV 25701

CSX will respond with an information package including further instructions, how to provide additional wage information and paperwork for itemizing damages. Compensation via mail usually takes approximately 4-6 weeks.

Residents with questions who cannot reach the Outreach Center may contact 1-877-TellCSX (1-877-835-5279).

[CNJRoss]

Charleston (WV) Gazette, 2/18:

 

CSX, water company sued over train derailment and response

Two Fayette County restaurants and two shareholders in those restaurants sued CSX and West Virginia American Water Company on Wednesday, two days after a train carrying crude oil derailed, caught fire and exploded in western Fayette County, leaving hundreds of residents and businesses temporarily without water.

 

SNIP

 

The lawsuit claims CSX and a subsidiary company, CSX Transportation, were negligent in their operation of the train, which was carrying 107 tank cars with Bakken Shale crude oil. The train derailed between Mount Carbon and Deepwater on Monday.

 

SNIP

 

When West Virginia American Water shut off the intake to its Montgomery treatment plant, the water company didn’t have a reasonable amount of water reserve in its system, the lawsuit alleges. As a result, water service was interrupted for Montgomery, Smithers, Cannelton, London, Handley and Hughes Creek.

 

Continue here.

[CNJRoss]

WV DEP / Joint Information Center news release:

 

UPDATE 8 - WEST VIRGINIA TRAIN DERAILMENT RESPONSE

2/22/2015

MONTGOMERY, W. Va. — The Unified Command for the West Virginia Train Derailment Response announced Sunday at a media briefing that progress continues with restoring the environment and repairing the rail transportation system.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has confirmed that a small amount of oil entered the Kanawha River as ice melted and water levels changed Sunday morning. However, ongoing containment strategy and water monitoring has confirmed no impact on drinking water or public safety. Regular monitoring will continue around the clock with oversight from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and West Virginia American Water.

“We are working with our partners in the Unified Command on continuous water monitoring as temperatures rise and river conditions change. At this time we are confident that there has been no impact and the water is safe to drink,” said Dennis Matlock, Federal On-Scene Coordinator, U.S. EPA. “The Unified Command is prepared to deploy additional containment strategies if necessary to supplement the existing booms, sheet piling, barge operations, and product vacuuming operations that are recovering product and limiting further environmental impact.”

Environmental experts also continue air monitoring efforts to ensure levels are safe for the public. Air and water quality reports are available online through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website at: http://www.epaosc.org/site/site_profile.aspx?site_id=9762.

Officials from the Federal Railroad Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration have teams of inspectors on site and are conducting a full-scale investigation into the cause of the Feb. 16 derailment.

Response teams continue pumping operations to remove oil from the derailed tank cars, reporting approximately 152,000 gallons of oil recovered directly from tank cars as of Sunday afternoon. Teams began safely removing empty rail cars on Saturday evening, an operation which continued Sunday. Both pumping and removal operations will continue around the clock pending safe work conditions and weather conditions, until both are complete. Response teams will remove impacted soil and lay a new rail bed in order to rebuild the CSX railroad tracks.

CSX continues to support the needs of Montgomery residents and those affected by the derailment through its community Outreach Center. The CSX Outreach Center will return to the Glen Ferris Inn location beginning Monday, February 23, to compensate residents who evacuated their homes and those who experienced an extended power outage (over 24 hours). The Outreach Center will be open 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Friday.

Residents visiting the center are reminded to bring a form of identification (driver’s license or government ID) and AEP power bill. Residents are encouraged to bring any receipts documenting evacuation-related expenses. Households that experienced extended power outages must have the person whose name is on the bill present in order to receive compensation. If possible, only one household representative should come to check in at the Outreach Center.

Residents who are not able to visit the Outreach Center can request compensation by mailing a letter that includes name, home address (P. O. Boxes not accepted), phone number, social security number and a photocopy of your driver’s license to the following address:

CSX Transportation
Attention: Mount Carbon accident response team
935 7th Avenue
Huntington, WV 25701

CSX will respond with an information package including further instructions, how to provide additional wage information and paperwork for itemizing damages. Compensation via mail usually takes approximately 4-6 weeks.

Residents with questions who cannot reach the Outreach Center may contact 1-877-TellCSX (1-877-835-5279).

[CNJRoss]

AP via WTOP radio, 2/23:
 

Man runs from home as train derails nearby, engulfs property

 

ANSTED, W.Va. (AP) — Morris Bounds Sr. wanted to make sure his home was tidy when his wife was let out of the hospital, so he cleaned the kitchen and vacuumed their bedroom.

 

While doing the mindless chores, he noticed his cellphone on the bed and thought to himself: “I might need this.” After all, friends and family had been coming and going from the house since his wife’s heart surgery, and he expected her home any day.

 

Bounds grabbed his cellphone off the bed and walked into the kitchen. As soon as he did, he heard the harrowing squeal of colliding metal and looked outside into the snowstorm. Just 50 feet away, he could see a train crashing.

 

He bolted out the front door as fast as his bad knees could take him. He didn’t have time to grab his shoes and trudged through the snow in his socks. Temperatures were in the teens.

 

Turns out, having the cellphone helped save his life.

 

Continue here.

[CNJRoss]

ProgressiveRailroading.com, 2/24:
 

FRA to begin investigating CSX derailment in West Virginia

 

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) yesterday announced it will launch a full-scale forensic investigation into the CSX Transportation derailment that occurred Feb. 16 near Mount Carbon, W.Va.

 

Continue here.

[CNJRoss]

WV DEP / Joint Information Center news release:

 

 

UPDATE 9 - WEST VIRGINIA TRAIN DERAILMENT RESPONSE

2/23/2015

MONTGOMERY, W. Va. — The Unified Command for the West Virginia Train Derailment Response continues to make progress restoring the environment and repairing the rail transportation system Monday.

SNIP

Officials from the Federal Railroad Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration have teams of inspectors on site and are conducting a full-scale investigation into the cause of the derailment.

Response teams continue pumping operations to remove oil from the derailed tank cars, reporting approximately 166,000 gallons of oil recovered directly from tank cars as of Monday morning. In addition approximately 36,000 gallons of oily-water mixture have been recovered from containment trenches dug along the river embankment near the derailment site as of Monday morning. The product and oily-water mixture is being transferred to CSX’s nearby Handley Yard. Response teams are following all federal oil-transfer guidelines to ensure safe operations.

At the derailment site, teams continue safely removing empty rail cars. As of Monday afternoon, four rail cars still need to be placed on flatcars for removal. All other rail cars have been positioned for removal. Once complete, response teams will remove impacted soil and lay a new rail bed in order to rebuild the CSX railroad tracks.

 

Complete release.

[CNJRoss]

WV DEP / Joint Information Center news release:

UPDATE 10 - WEST VIRGINIA TRAIN DERAILMENT RESPONSE

2/24/2015

MONTGOMERY, W. Va. —Response teams with the West Virginia Train Derailment Response Unified Command have started removing the impacted soil around the derailment site, Tuesday. Once complete, they will begin laying a new rail bed in order to rebuild the CSX railroad tracks.

Pumping operations to remove oil from the derailed tank cars were completed Monday night, with approximately 172,000 gallons of oil recovered directly from tank cars. Twelve rail cars from the derailment remain on-site and are positioned for removal once the railroad tracks are in place.

Response crews had also recovered a total of nearly 68,000 gallons of oily-water mixture from containment trenches dug along the river embankment near the derailment site as of Tuesday morning. The product and oily-water mixture is being transferred to CSX’s nearby Handley Yard. Response teams are following all federal oil-transfer guidelines to ensure safe operations.

 

Complete release.

[CNJRoss]

WV DEP / Joint Infomration Center news release:

UPDATE 11 - WEST VIRGINIA TRAIN DERAILMENT RESPONSE

2/25/2015

MONTGOMERY, W. Va. — Response teams with the West Virginia Train Derailment Response Unified Command completed soil excavation around the derailment site Wednesday morning. Environmental experts working with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection collected and analyzed soil samples to ensure all impacted soil was removed. The impacted soil is being held at the site with environmental protections in place while response crews build a temporary access road from the site to Route 61. The access road will minimize impact to the community by providing direct access to the site for trucks transporting the excavated soil to a certified disposal facility.

“We are continually working with our partners in the Unified Command to limit the impact to the surrounding community as we work to restore the area,” said Dennis Matlock, Federal On-Scene Coordinator. “We appreciate the community’s cooperation and patience throughout the clean-up process.”

Response crews will begin backfilling operations to restore the derailment site Wednesday. Once complete, they will lay a new rail bed and tracks to restore rail service through the area.

Twelve rail cars from the derailment remain on-site and are positioned for removal once the railroad tracks are in place.

 

Complete release.

[CNJRoss]

WV DEP / Joint Information Center news release:

 

UPDATE 12 - WEST VIRGINIA TRAIN DERAILMENT RESPONSE

2/26/2015

MONTGOMERY, W. Va. — Teams with the West Virginia Train Derailment Response Unified Command restored the tracks and reopened the railway for commerce Thursday afternoon. Rail operations have resumed with caution as workers continue cleanup activities at the site.

All cars impacted by the derailment have been removed from the tracks and relocated to CSX’s Handley Yard where they will be cleaned and purged of any remaining product residue.

At the derailment site, response crews installed a retaining wall approximately 500 feet long between the train tracks and the river. This temporary sheet pile wall will help prevent residual product from migrating into the river through groundwater or surface run-off. The wall will remain in place until state cleanup standards are met.

Response crews will begin removing the excavated soils from the site for proper disposal at a licensed facility in Charleston, West Virginia+. An access road was created from the work area to route 61 so truck traffic will not have to use residential streets to enter and exit the work area.

 

Complete release.