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Rock Valley, Iowa (RI) — Rock Valley Mayor, Kevin Van Otterloo says he is more than satisfied with the response from the railroad following the derailment of tanker cars and the release of crude oil upstream of the city Friday near Doon.
A spokesman for the Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad says fourteen of the 32 cars leaked around 230-thousand gallons of oil. He says they took action to contain what they could and the cleanup efforts continue. There was a concern the oil would contaminate Rock Valley’s well field where the city draws water — but Van Otterloo says they remain contaminate-free.
The DNR, EPA, and the railroad will all conduct tests of the well sites. Van Otterloo says he is also happy with the state, county, and local agencies that responded to help residents. He says this flooding is not as bad as the record flooding that hit the northwest Iowa community in 2014. He says it has a different type of impact and damage.
Some 75 homes in Rock Valley were evacuated Sunday night in the northern part of the town when more heavy rains threatened.
The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad issued this statement on Tuesday:
“BNSF Railway continues to focus on mitigation efforts at the scene of a crude oil train derailment near Doon, Iowa, where 32 rail cars derailed June 22, 2018. The impacted segment of track is now back in service.
Much of the 230,000 gallons of oil spilled in the incident is contained to a small triangular area between our tracks, Garfield Avenue and 270th Street. Hazardous materials and environmental experts continue to use skimmers to recover any additional oil at that location. Removal is ongoing as well in that general area where flood waters have receded. Ongoing air monitoring efforts have found no levels of concern for conditions that could impact workers and the community.
We remain grateful there were no injuries as a result of this incident and regret the inconvenience it has caused the community. BNSF continues to work with those directly impacted and with local officials.”
