The state’s emergency management agency is sharing statistics with local emergency managers on how many trains carrying Bakken crude oil are moving through North Dakota. But as Prairie Public’s Dave Thompson reports, the numbers came as no surprise to a number of the local officials – who say they already have plans in place to handle any derailments, as well as fires or explosions from those derailments.
Cass County Emergency Manager Dave Rogness says he was not surprised by the numbers.
“Right. Yeah, not at all.”
Cass County has already gone through a derailment. Last December, an oil train collided with a derailed grain train near Casselton. Nine oil cars caught fire. Rogness says Cass County and local emergency responders had plans in place to handle it.
“Last year, when the incident happened in Quebec, that was a real eye-opener for us locally here, because we knew even at that point, that there was a significant increase in the rail transportation numbers that were coming through Cass County," said Rogness. "It was hard not to notice that.”
Rogness says the county adopted policies, and sponsored training to handle oil derailments.
“We kinda had a heads up when this thing happened in Casselton," said Rogness. "So this information that’s coming out really doesn’t add anything significantly, in terms of changing the way we’re doing anything, or adding any value to what we’ve done already.”
“We know that the increase in activity is here,” said Burleigh County’s emergency manager Mary Senger. She says it’s not only rail traffic, but truck traffic as well.
“So we take that information and share it with our community stakeholders and responder entities, which includes the fire departments," said Senger. "And they take that information into account when they’re doing training activities”
Senger says the key in response is training.
“We’re always training," said Senger. "We’re updating our equipment, getting new equipment and looking at what the needs are and where the gaps are.”
Senger says a recent tabletop exercise with the state of North Dakota and representatives of city and county governments showed both the strengths – and weaknesses – of the response plans. She and Rogness say those plans are constantly revised, based on the needs.
