D ANIEL P.

M C C OY
C OUNTY E XECUTIVE

C OUNTY OF A LBANY
O FFICE OF THE E XECUTIVE

P HILIP F . C ALDERONE , ESQ .

D EPUTY C OUNTY E XECUTIVE

112 S TATE S TREET , R OOM 900

A LBANY , N EW Y ORK 12207-2021
(518) 447-7040 - FAX (518) 447-5589
WWW . ALBANYCOUNTY . COM

May 7, 2015
The Honorable Anthony Foxx
Secretary
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Washington D.C. 20590
Dear Secretary Foxx:
I commend you on your efforts to make rail transportation of flammable liquids including crude
oil safer but remain deeply concerned because I believe the new rules announced last week do not
go far enough and implementation is not fast enough.
In my letter to you on April 28, 2015, I cited that old data was used by the Federal Railroad
Administration and did not consider the impact on areas that are also placed in harms way
because of the increase in rail traffic. In New York, only two urban areas, Yonkers and Buffalo
are part of the High-Threat Urban Areas list where the maximum operating speed for trains
carrying crude oil is now 40 mph. The city of Albany, which also serves as the state capital,
should be on the list. With over one-million people in the Greater Capital Region, it is
unacceptable that trains carrying crude oil could travel at 50 mph. The railroad tracks used by
crude oil shippers pass right through the city and are located close to a residential neighborhood.
Furthermore, those trains frequently contain less than 20 units which mean the lower speed limit
also would not apply. Albany has become a major crude oil transportation hub with 16 million
gallons of crude oil a week passing through the Port of Albany via the railroad system. As I
stated in a letter to NYS DEC last November, We appreciate that the enhanced tank car
standards and other improvements the federal government, the Department, the railroad
companies and others are considering may, in time, somewhat reduce the risks of accidents and
adverse consequences in Albany County. Yet finalizing, litigating, and fully implementing those
improvements will take at least several years, perhaps longer than the boom in crude oil by rail
will last. Meanwhile the risks are real now, and extreme and increasing.
The explosion and fire in Heimdal, North Dakota just yesterday underscores how important it is
that the USDOT needs to act now to protect residents of areas that are not considered high threat
urban areas. Heimdal marks the fifth accident this year, luckily with no loss of life. More needs
to be done to protect the health and safety of more people living in areas with smaller populations
and fewer resources to adequately respond in case of a derailment or accident.

There are other areas that need to be addressed:

1)
The schedule to replace dangerous DOT 111s and 1232s needs to be shortened with new
car implementation much quicker;
2)
There must be a requirement for stabilization or conditioning of crude oil prior to its
transportation to lessen its volatility;
3)
There must be a requirement of financial assurance;
4)
There must be a provision for local notification when trains carrying flammables are
traveling to localities, when they arrive and if there is any release of materials; (This notification
can be modeled after the local notification requirement contained in the EPAs Community
Notification Act regarding chemical materials).
5)
Positive Train Control should be required on all routes carrying flammable liquids and
PTC must be implemented sooner than presently required under the new rules.
I am asking you once again, given the urgency of the situation, to immediately use your
emergency powers to address these risks.
Sincerely,

Daniel P. McCoy
Albany County Executive
Cc: Gov. Cuomo
Sen. Gillibrand
Sen. Schumer
Rep. Tonko
Commissioner Joseph Martens