Page 12 - Flathead Beacon // 12.16.15

NEWS
New Highway Bill Includes Tough Rules for Oil Trains Despite slowdown in the Bakken, BNSF still moves 10 to 18 oil trains a week through Northwest Montana
BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
While the new highway bill passed earlier this month was primarily aimed at funding the country’s road infrastruc- ture, the Fixing America’s Surface Trans- portation Act also includes new rules for the movement of crude oil by rail.
Although oil production out of North Dakota has slowed, BNSF Railway is still moving 10 to 18 oil trains a week through Northwest Montana and along Glacier National Park’s southern boundary, according to data released by the state. The movement of oil by rail has come under scrutiny in recent years after a series of explosive derailments, includ- ing one in Quebec that killed 47 people in 2013.
Prior to the oil boom, Class 1 rail- roads, which include the largest rail companies in North America, moved less than 10,000 carloads of crude annually. But starting in 2013, railroads were mov- ing more than 400,000 carloads of crude every year.
The legislation passed by Congress earlier this month rea rms a timeline established by the U.S. Department of Transportation earlier this year to phase out older and more dangerous rail cars from carrying crude oil. Topping that list is the retirement of all DOT-111 tank cars from crude oil service by 2018. The DOT-111 tank car was the same type that was at the center of the deadly Que- bec wreck and is more likely to puncture and release fuel in the event of a wreck.
Other types of tank car, like the CPC- 1232, will have to cease moving crude by 2025. However, the Secretary of Trans- portation has the power to extend those deadlines if they feel the industry cannot meet it in a timely manner.
Earlier this year, BNSF took steps to prohibit the use of older DOT-111 and CPC-1232 tank cars on its own rails within three years. Third-party leasing companies, rather than the railroads themselves, own most tank cars.
The new transportation bill also requires that oil tank cars built in the future include a thicker thermal protec- tion blanket that protects the car should it be exposed to re or extreme heat. New cars will also need to have stronger pro- tective shrouding for the loading and
unloading valves.
Another provision in the FAST Act
o ers funding for community grants that can be awarded to non-pro t groups for training and research on how to respond to oil train wrecks. Railroads will also be required to provide more information about the movement of oil trains to rst responders and government agencies, including detailed inventories of what each train is transporting.
As the number of crude carloads has increased in recent years, critics have worried about public safety and envi- ronmental damage should an oil train derail, especially in an ecologically sen- sitive place like Glacier National Park.
jfranz@ atheadbeacon.com
Bird and Wildlife Habitat Protected in Smith, Mission Valleys Flathead Land Trust secures easements on more than 300 acres of wetlands and scenic corridors
BY TRISTAN SCOTT OF THE BEACON
More than 300 acres of bird and wild-
life habitat were recently conserved as easements in the Smith and Mission val- leys after two separate landowners part- nered with the nonpro t Flathead Land Trust.
The conservation projects will ensure that about 180 acres of wetlands and 1.5 miles of streams are protected as wildlife habitat in perpetuity, while also preserv- ing ranch land as a working farm.
Ron and Carley Iverson donated 142 acres of their land near Smith Lake west of Kalispell to the Flathead Land Trust, which will transfer the land to the Smith Lake Waterfowl Production Area admin- istered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service. The newly donated land will be added to that block of conserved lands, which totals more than 1,600 acres, and includes private land with conservation easements held by Flathead Land Trust, Montana Land Reliance and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
According to the Flathead Land Trust, the wetlands complex provides a critical feeding stopover for tens of thousands of birds each year during their migration journeys.
The donation will also protect about a half-mile of Ashley Creek and its sce- nic views for those traveling on U.S. Highway 2 and on the Rails-to-Trails bike path west of Kalispell. The Iversons have owned the property for almost 20 years, and said they wanted to protect
the special habitat for wildlife and future generations.
On Dec. 8, the Flathead Land Trust also purchased a 159-acre conservation easement in the Mission Valley from landowner John Weaver. The land will remain in private ownership and under Weaver’s management as a working farm, but the easement will ensure the land remains undeveloped open space.
The property is anked by views of the Mission Mountains and is less than a mile from the National Bison Range. It includes more than a half-mile of Sabine Creek and another half-mile of an unnamed creek (both spring-fed), as well as 38 acres of wetlands used by a suite of wildlife species, including black bear, grizzly bear, white-tailed deer, hawks,
waterfowl, and other small mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.
Fire ies even use the property, according to the Land Trust, making the easement the second location in western Montana where the bioluminescent bugs are known to frequent.
The Flathead Land Trust purchased the conservation easement from Weaver with funding from a North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant, and through the landowner’s cooperation and support.
“Purchased conservation easements are a great tool for conserving important sh and wildlife habitat on private lands, especially for those with little or modest income,” Weaver said.
tscott@ atheadbeacon.com
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DECEMBER 16, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM