Federal railroad officials are closely monitoring Global Oil’s proposal to bring ethanol trains to its Revere terminal on Chelsea Creek. Trains carrying ethanol would back into this area adjacent to Global Oil. However, officials admitted they still lack detailed information about the project. ““We have been monitoring developments closely and have had meetings with the State Fire Marshal’s Office as well as the Chelsea City Manager,”,” said Warren Flateau, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) based in Washington, D.C. ““We also met with Global seeking to confirm whether the project will or will not happen. However, because of the proprietary nature of the project, we weren’t able to learn much. We were told it may happen…It’s certainly not some unknown project, but the regulators here indicated when they met, [Global] would not share information because from their point of view it is still proprietary.”,” he added. Proprietary information in business refers to data owned by a company, and its public disclosure could place them at a competitive disadvantage in their industry. Flateau noted that if the project moves forward, FRA will be present in Revere right away. ““What I can also tell you with certainty is that should it come to fruition, FRA would absolutely be an active participant in monitoring the start of such operations and monitoring them once they convene because, obviously, we have a direct interest,”,” he said. ““We enforce many of the federal hazardous materials regulations for rail.”,” he continued. A few months ago, Global proposed transporting large quantities of ethanol by train from its major ethanol storage facility in Albany. These trains would pass through several cities and towns in Massachusetts before arriving at Revere. The trains, which would arrive approximately twice a week, would travel as far as Bell Circle on the commuter rail tracks and then back up on a separate rail spur near Railroad Avenue that leads into the Global Oil Terminal. These trains would arrive at night when the commuter rail is not in operation. Each train would carry about 1.7 million gallons of ethanol per trip, resulting in an estimated annual total of around 175 million gallons. It is not entirely clear what Global plans to do with the ethanol product, but many believe they intend to blend some of it with gasoline and possibly load larger quantities onto tanker ships for export. Ethanol is a corn product that is converted into alcohol and is highly flammable, though non-toxic. According to Flateau, the presence of large quantities of ethanol on the rails is not new for the FRA. It has increased rapidly in recent years due to ethanol subsidies from the U.S. government. A few years ago, the U.S. Congress decided to offer substantial subsidies to Midwestern corn growers who refined their corn crops into ethanol. These subsidies led to a significant increase in ethanol production, and the most efficient way to transport these large volumes is by rail. Now, ethanol train projects are emerging across the country. ““We knew as soon as they chose to give incentives to Ethanol, it would be increasing usage on the rails,”,” said Flateau. ““Because of that, the FRA has gone out to the renewable fuels industry and addressed this. We’ve gone out and tried to do pro-active discussion to make sure they’re fully aware and compliant with the federal regulations on our end.”,” he added. Revere Fire Chief Gene Doherty described the plan to bring in the trains as a double-edged sword. ““Everyone says they want a cleaner environment and here it is,”,” said Doherty. ““There’s a cost to it and this is it – these trains coming in.”,” he continued.
Officials Keep a Close Watch on Global Project
