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Crude oil train derails in North Dakota

Federal responders on scene after 10 cars catch fire, no injuries reported.

By Daniel J. Graeber

HEIMDAL, N.D., May 6 (UPI) -- Federal regulators said Wednesday a North Dakota town was evacuated after several tank cars carrying crude oil derailed and caught fire.

Ten responders from the Federal Railroad Administration were dispatched to Heimdal, N.D., to investigate the cause of the incident. The small town of less than 50 residents in central North Dakota was evacuated as a security precaution.

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"Today's incident is yet another reminder of why we issued a significant, comprehensive rule aimed at improving the safe transport of high hazard flammable liquids," acting Federal Railroad Administrator Sarah Feinberg said in a statement. "The FRA will continue to look at all options available to us to improve safety and mitigate risks."

Cecily Fong, a spokeswoman for the North Dakota State Emergency Services, said in a telephone interview the engine and rail cars not involved in the derailment were moved to safety.

"Ten cars are on fire," she said, adding it was unclear if all 10 of those were derailed.

About 40 people were evacuated from Heimdal, there were no injuries and no apparent structural damage from the incident. The line, she said, was likely operated by BNSF, which had no immediate statement on the derailment.

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The rail company last month said it would require trains hauling crude oil to reduce their speeds in communities with more than 100,000 residents and work to remove all rail cars designated DOT-111 from service within a year and phase in newer CPC-1232 models.

The Department of Transportation last year called for the elimination of older rail cars designated DOT-111 for shipment of flammable liquid, "including most Bakken crude oil," the type found in North Dakota.

It's unclear where the BNSF train through Heimdal originated. Around a dozen empty crude oil tankers derailed Nov. 13 in Casselton, N.D., from a BNSF-operated train. About 950 barrels of oil spilled when two trains operated by BNSF collided and derailed near Casselton in late December 2013.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx hosted Canadian Transport Minister Lisa Raitt last week in Washington to announce new standards for "stronger, safer rail tank cars" carrying flammable liquids like crude oil through North America.

North American crude oil production has increased to the point that there's not enough pipeline infrastructure to handle deliveries. That leaves energy companies to rely more on rail as an alternate transit method and, with that, comes more derailments involving trains carrying oil.

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The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers group sent a letter last week to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board saying singling out rail cars was a short-sighted approach to safety.

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