U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

HTTPS

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Lynchburg Crude Oil Train Derailment

All POL/SITREP's for this site Lynchburg Crude Oil Train Derailment
Lynchburg, VA - EPA Region III
POLREP #5
POLREP #5 and FINAL (FPN E14309) 		Printer Friendly  |   PDF
 
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
POLLUTION/SITUATION REPORT
Lynchburg Crude Oil Train Derailment - Removal Polrep
Final Removal Polrep

EPA Emergency Response

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Region III
Subject: POLREP #5
POLREP #5 and FINAL (FPN E14309)
Lynchburg Crude Oil Train Derailment

Lynchburg, VA
Latitude: 37.4100000 Longitude: -79.1394000

To:
From: Christine Wagner & Francisco J. Cruz, OSC
Date: 9/21/2015
Reporting Period: 5/6/14-8/18/15

1. Introduction
  1.1 Background
   
Site Number:      Contract Number:  
D.O. Number:      Action Memo Date:  
Response Authority: OPA    Response Type: Emergency
Response Lead: PRP    Incident Category: Removal Action
NPL Status: Non NPL    Operable Unit:
Mobilization Date: 4/30/2014    Start Date: 4/30/2104
Demob Date:      Completion Date: 8/18/2015
CERCLIS ID:    RCRIS ID:
ERNS No.:    State Notification:
FPN#: E14309    Reimbursable Account #:

1.1.1 Incident Category

Crude Oil Spill

1.1.2 Site Description

Train derailment in historic district of Lynchburg, VA

1.1.2.1 Location

Rail line in front of 10 9th Street in the City of Lynchbug, VA

1.1.2.2 Description of Threat

Oil discharge onto the James River. Estimated volume 29,600 gallons of crude oil.   Potential impact to drinking water intakes in Richmond and Henrico County, VA
2. Current Activities
  2.1 Operations Section
   

2.1.1 Narrative

This polrep finalizes actions and funds expended under FPN E14309 to respond to and mitigate the release of crude oil as a result of a trail derailment which occurred on April 30, 2014.  For additional information regarding the incident, please refer to previous polreps.. 


2.1.2 Response Actions to Date

Operations

CSX completed transfer operations in May of 2014.  The Incident Commander terminated the incident on May 6, 2014.   EPA's final day overseeing Site activities was May 7, 2014.  At this time, the Lead Agency responsibilities were accepted by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

 CSX, and its environmental contractor, Arcadis, continued cleanup and monitoring of environmental conditions.

 EPA received data from the EPA Fort Meade Lab which indicated that no contaminants of concern related to the fuel oil were detected in any of the downstream water intakes.


2.1.3 Enforcement Activities, Identity of Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs)

CSX has accepted responsibility for the cleanup.  EPA issued CSX a Notice of Federal Interest, identifying CSX as the responsible party.

In 2015, CSX agreed to pay $361,000 for a penalty action imposed by VDEQ
  2.2 Planning Section
   


2.2.1.1 Planned Response Activities
No further action anticipated by EPA.  Response is complete.

2.2.2 Issues

In August of 2015, NTSB released a report which suggests that the incident was likely caused by a defect in the rail track.
  2.3 Logistics Section
   

CSX is handled all logistics for the cleanup and derailment.
The City of Lynchburg provided fire, medical, and law enforcement support.EPA provided air monitoring and sampling support
  2.4 Finance Section
    No information available at this time.
  2.5 Other Command Staff
    No information available at this time.
3. Participating Entities
  3.1 Unified Command

CSX
City Of Lynchburg
VDEM
VDEQ
NTSB
EPA

3.2 Cooperating Agencies

Virginia Department of Health
Virginia Department of Public Safety
EPA Office of Water
EPA Environmental Science Center Fort Meade
Henrico County
City of Richmond
4. Personnel On Site
  City of Lynchburg

    Fire & Eemrgency Services
    EMS
    Law Enforcement
    Public Works
    
CSX
    Hepaco
    WEL
    Arcadis
    CTEH
    Enviroscience
    Cranemasters

VDEQ
VDE

EPA
5. Definition of Terms
 
VOA  (or VOC) - Volatile Organic Analysis or Volatile Organic Compounds
SVOC - Semi-volatile organic compounds
6. Additional sources of information
  Additional information regarding cause can be obtained from NTSB's website.
7. Situational Reference Materials
  No information available at this time.