From Richmond.com article:
Many of us in Richmond watched the train tank cars burn as they rested precariously on the banks of the James in Lynchburg and could easily envision the same type of accident happening here in the capital city. What if a few of those highly flammable tanks dropped off the nearly three-miles long CSX Viaduct onto Brown’s Island during Friday Cheers or the Richmond Folk Festival?
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(Editor’s note: see earlier posts on this subject by clicking here and here.)
The article continues:
For the next session of the General Assembly, the JRA will be pushing for stricter management and oversight and will be asking the public for support for the following issues:
-Rail transport of highly volatile Bakken crude oil from the Midwest. Crude oil by rail transport has increased 450 percent over the past five years. These trains are carrying over a million gallons of crude oil through our watershed two to five times per week. Governor McAuliffe convened a rail safety task force which will solicit input from industry stakeholders, local governments and members of the public and produce a report of recommended state and federal actions to prevent railroad accidents and ensure that Virginia is prepared as possible to keep communities safe in the case of a future incident.
-The James River watershed is home to coal ash ponds capable of holding 5 billion gallons of coal ash stretching from the headwaters to the mouth of the river. Despite being a highly toxic material, Virginia does not regulate coal ash as a solid or hazardous waste product and is not acting to stop contamination from coal ash ponds.
-The storage of the majority of chemicals in Virginia is not covered by any regulatory program. Review current industry practices and determine range of standards. Fill any gaps identified in the existing industry toxic storage policies and procedures with standards that ensure adequate safeguards and inspections for the storage of all chemicals.
According to a release, “We must learn from these events and take immediate action to protect public safety, the environment, the economy that the river supports and its recreational value. Our safety requirements and procedures need to be up to date to address current threats and to prevent a crippling event from happening in the future. Now is the time to begin the conversation on how to protect our waterways and our citizens from the threats posed by the storage and transport of hazardous materials.”
If you’d like to have your voice heard, join the forum Wednesday, Nov. 12, from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Virginia War Memorial. Your James River needs you.
