National Transportation Safety Board Chair -- "No Evidence Bakken Crude More Volatile"

Press Release

Congressman Kevin Cramer today highlighted recent comments made by National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Christopher Hart emphasizing crude oil from the Bakken region is not more volatile or dangerous than other crude oil. Specifically Hart is quoted as saying the "largest contributor to a large explosion or fire is how much product is released, rather that the volatility of the product." Oil development in the Bakken region of North Dakota has come under scrutiny because of the perception Bakken Crude is more "volatile" and therefore more dangerous than other crude oil, ethanol, or other hazardous materials in railroad derailments.

Some politicians and activists have cited this increased danger from shipping Bakken Crude in attempts to curtail shale oil development.

"Extreme environmentalists and their friends in the media have ignored sound science in their pursuit of a political goal to shut down energy development in North Dakota," said Cramer. "I hope the Chairman's comments and the research from the NTSB puts to rest the misperception crude oil from the Bakken area is more volatile or dangerous than other crude oil, ethanol, or other hazardous materials."

In September last year while serving on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Congressman Cramer spearheaded an energy and oversight hearing with experts from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Department of Energy, ND Petroleum Council, Turner, Mason, & Company, and the Syracuse Fire Department. The hearing examined the characteristics and behavior of crude oil from the Bakken region. Officials testified the increased risk of an incident has to do with the increased volume of product being transported and not the characteristics of Bakken crude. (Sources: https://science.house.gov/legislation/hearings/subcommittee-energy-and-subcommittee-oversight-joint-hearing-bakken-petroleum and http://cramer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/us-house-science-committee-to-examine-characteristics-of-bakken-crude)

The Congressman also announced BNSF Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) publicly filed weekly grain backlog status updates as required by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB). A summary of the reporting data specific to North Dakota for the last 10 weeks is below.

Source