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Crude oil leaks from derailed train cars in southern Wisconsin

It is the second train moving through Wisconsin to derail and leak chemicals in as many days.

By Fred Lambert

WATERTOWN, Wis., Nov. 8 (UPI) -- A train carrying crude oil derailed in southern Wisconsin Sunday, causing some oil to leak, railway officials said.

The train, which was owned and operated by Canadian Pacific Railway, was headed eastbound when at least 13 cars derailed at about 2 p.m. in Watertown, Wis., according to a CP statement.

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"Some product spilled due to one of the tank cars being punctured," the statement read. "The leaking car has now been sealed, spilled product was contained and siphoned off and no product has reached waterways. All spilled product will be hauled away and disposed of in an environmentally safe manner."

The statement went on to say "preliminary reports indicate that less than 1,000 gallons of product spilled from the punctured car, and we are working to confirm an exact number."

At least 35 homes around the containment site were evacuated as a precaution, the statement read.

Spokesman Martin Cej said CP teams were sent to assist local authorities at the site. There were no reports of fires or injuries in the incident, which comes one day after more than 30 cars on a train operated by BNSF Railway derailed in Alma, a city in western Wisconsin, spilling thousands of gallons of ethanol into the Mississippi River.

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On Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama announced he was rejecting a proposal to move forward on the Keystone XL pipeline, which would span nearly 1,200 miles from Canada to Texas, moving nearly 830,000 barrels of oil a day to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Obama said the project "would not serve in the national interest of the United States" and would undercut its position as a global leader in the fight against climate change.

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