Assemblymember Patricia A.

Fahy
109
th
Assembly District Albany, Bethlehem, Guilderland, New Scotland

For Immediate Release

June 4, 2014

FAHY, GRISANTI INTRODUCE PETROLEUM
STORAGE SURETY BILL TO PROTECT TAXPAYERS

ALBANY, N.Y. (J une 4, 2014) --- Assemblymember Patricia A. Fahy (D-Albany) and Senator Mark
Grisanti (R-I-Buffalo) have introduced legislation that would ensure that the storage of crude oil must
meet certain financial requirements to prevent taxpayers frombeing responsible in instances of
inadvertent crude oil shipment accidents.

If passed, this legislation would be the first to address growing concerns over the safety of crude oil
storage in New York State. The bill has been reported out of the Assemblys Environmental Conservation
Committee.

The exponential rise of crude oil transportation, especially with the growth of storage facilities right here
at the Port of Albany, can come with devastating consequences as weve seen in communities across
North America. This bill ensures that crude oil operators and storage facilities are responsible for their
actions, not taxpayers or the public at large, said Assemblymember Fahy.

The Petroleum Storage Surety bill (A.9926/S.7718) would apply to crude oil stored at all bulk storage
facilities in New York State and require financial security to meet all responsibilities for cleanup and
decontamination costs associated with the release of such oil.

A business may achieve this by indicating evidence of insurance, a letter of credit, or a bond froma
corporate surety licensed to do business in New York State.

The transport of crude oil by rail has increased exponentially nationwide over the past five years, from
over 9,000 carloads of crude oil in 2008 to over 400,000 in 2013, and the need for storage facilities has
expanded accordingly.

Crude oil fromthe Bakken region in North Dakota is considered particularly volatile due to the gases
produced fromthe process used in extracting the oil fromthe shale. The explosion of Bakken crude oil in
Lac-Megantic, Quebec which killed 47 people and destroyed a large part of the village in J uly 2013 is an
example of the high risk presented by the transportation and storage of crude oil.

There is a heightened awareness of safety issues related to the transportation and storage of crude oil and
the PetroleumStorage Surety bill is one attempt to address the negative impacts of mishandling and
improper storage of crude oil. Rail transportation of crude oil is regulated by federal law whereas bulk
storage of crude oil is governed by state law.

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