Contra Costa Times: Congressman to speak on rail safety, view hazmat training exercise

By Tom Lochner

Rep. Mike Thompson will speak about rail safety at 9 a.m. Thursday in the City Council chamber at Hercules City Hall, 111 Civic Drive.

Thompson, D-St. Helena, worked with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific railroads as well as fire departments in Contra Costa County and the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services to provide disaster response training for local first responders in the event of a train derailment or other accident involving hazardous materials, according to a statement from his Congressional office.

Thursday is the final day of a three-day Railroad Hazardous Materials Awareness Training program that included classroom training as well as hands-on exercises. After his presentation, Thompson will observe a training demonstration outside Hercules City Hall involving a tank car valve training trailer, his office said.

The event comes at a time of heightened concern in the East Bay over pollution from industrial plants and the dangers of transporting crude oil and products such as liquefied petroleum gas by rail.

The Phillips 66 Co. plans a propane and butane recovery project at its petroleum refinery in Rodeo, Hercules' immediate neighbor to the north; that project faces legal challenges by environmental groups.

Phillips 66 also plans to build a rail spur at its Santa Maria refinery near the Central California Coast that would receive up to five trains a week loaded with crude oil from out of state, possibly via the Capitol Corridor tracks along the eastern shores of San Pablo and San Francisco bays, That project is under review by San Luis Obispo County.