Oil spill in the James
Authorities find what caused the cargo train derailment and spill two years ago
A train crash two years ago dumped thousands of gallons of petroleum crude oil into the James River.
The train was carrying petroleum crude oil through Lynchburg on a route into Yorktown when it derailed.
Three tanker cars detached, rolled down an embankment and ruptured after the train crashed. Yet despite the amount of oil that spilled, a new report revealed no lasting damage to the river.
According to the Roanoke Times, the National Transportation Safety Board reported March 2 that the accident was caused by a rail defect “that had been discovered the day before the derailment and was scheduled for repair the day after the accident.”
Cleanup — The James River and surrounding area is largely oil free since the spill two years ago. Photo credit: Shannon Ritter
Despite the magnitude of the accident and the 30,000 gallons of oil that spilled into the James River, there was very little environmental damage that resulted from the crash.
Almost all of the oil from the ruptured cars burned away, as petroleum crude oil is very flammable. There are currently no lasting effects from the spill.
“In general terms, it was pretty fortunate,” Bill Hayden, public affairs director at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in Richmond, said.
“There was a short-term air pollution problem afterward, but the amount of oil that escaped and got into the water was relatively small. We did not see a lot of environmental impact from the spill.”
The Virginia DEQ not only has its central office located in Richmond, but also has an office in Lynchburg.
This allowed an environmental staff member to arrive at the scene of the crash in 2014 very quickly.
The office in Richmond was responsible for coordinating the resulting oil containment effort and water testing activities.
“The immediate steps were to contain the oil that had spilled, and that was done fairly successfully since not much escaped,” Hayden said.
“The extent of the damage was in an oil sheen on the James River’s surface and soil, and to the plants living along the river.”
There are no current problems in the James River concerning oil.
What little amount that was in the river washed away quickly, and the soil along the embankment of the accident site was removed and replaced by the clean-up efforts of local cleanup crews.
There was also new shrubbery replanted along the riverbank to replace that which was affected by the oil.
“There are no long-lasting effects as far as we’ve been able to tell,” Hayden said.
As for minimizing the risk of another spill like this in the future, there is not much that the DEQ can do regarding the train and its rails’ placement along the river.
“As far as environmental concerns go, we try to minimize the threat in the first place which means having a stable riverbank that keeps the train tracks stable,” Hayden said.
“We do try to work with the railroad company to keep the tracks in good shape.”
Jarrett is a news reporter.