Governor Deval Patrick returned the amendment to the state’s Chapter 91 law to legislators last Friday with his own suggested modifications.
The amendment crafted by Senators Anthony Petruccelli, Sal DiDomenico and Patricia Jehlen sought to prevent Global Oil from executing its plan to transport 1.8 million gallons of ethanol by train twice weekly to their facility on the East Boston/Revere border. The Conference Committee had already approved it.
On July 1, Global withdrew its Chapter 91 license application following mounting pressure from lawmakers and environmental groups, effectively resolving the ethanol controversy in the area.
Since the facility sits adjacent to Chelsea Creek, Global required a Chapter 91 license to expand operations for ethanol storage along the waterway.
The amendment’s language specifies that “an ethanol storage or blending facility that stores or blends or is intended to store or blend more than an average of 5,000 gallons of ethanol per day and is located within one mile of a census block that has a population density of greater than 4,000 people per square mile shall not be granted a license under this chapter. For the purposes of this section, ethanol shall be defined as any mixture composed of not less than 30 percent ethanol”.
Instead, Patrick’s version establishes a two-year moratorium on ethanol rail transport routes within the Eastie, Revere and Chelsea Creek Designated Port Areas. It also directs the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) to create a comprehensive response strategy for ethanol transport across all municipalities along potential ethanol train corridors.
According to Kim Foltz, Director of Community Building and Environment at NOAH, “We’re encouraged that that Governor has begun to listen,”. “But his revised amendment is only a temporary solution. How can you mitigate a horrific rail accident?”
Activists again referenced the recent Quebec fuel train derailment as a cautionary example. On July 6th, a crude oil train derailed in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, subsequently exploding and killing 50 people instantly while destroying 30 buildings.
Local resident Judie Dyer posed the question: “Will a new study make me safer?” “My house is a few feet from the train tracks. These ethanol trains should never be allowed to come.”
At a Boston hearing on the matter the previous year, Boston Fire Department Commissioner Roderick Fraser stated that specialized foam applied by specially trained firefighting personnel represents the only method for extinguishing an ethanol fire. The BFD did not clarify whether they currently possess this capability.
Maps depicting Eastie, Chelsea, Everett and Revere illustrated the scale of evacuation necessary should an ethanol fire occur. A Chelsea derailment would require evacuation of most of Chelsea, with significant portions of Eastie, Everett and Revere also affected, displacing thousands of residents.
Opponents continued citing incidents in Rockford, Illinois and rural Ohio where ethanol trains—termed “bomb trains” by critics—caused substantial damage in sparsely populated regions. They questioned the potential consequences and scale of destruction if such an incident occurred in a densely populated area.