The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office released the 911 calls and portions of the firefighting efforts and law enforcement response after a Union Pacific train derailed in Mosier on Friday.
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The 96-car Union Pacific train was carrying Bakken crude oil to a refinery in Tacoma, Washington when it had an “undesired emergency application” of its brakes.
The derailment also damaged and contaminated the Mosier wastewater treatment plant.
A temporary bypass system that allowed the city to restore sewer service to customers remains in place, according to an EPA spokesperson.
Hood River City Council members Kate McBride and Peter Cornelison took part in an anti-oil train rally in downtown Hood River that brought in more than 100 people.
About 10,000 gallons were discovered and removed from Mosier’s wastewater system after the crash, with the remaining 32,000 gallons burned off and vaporized, captured by booms in the Columbia River, or absorbed by soil.
Union Pacific says a failure of the fastener that connects the rail to the railroad tie as the likely cause of the derailment.
The investigation is ongoing, and the findings will be included in a report that he said could be submitted as soon as Friday to the Federal Railroad Administration.
Traffic resumed on the rail line through Mosier on June 5, with trains limited to 10 miles per hour, instead of the usual 30 miles per hour limit. Specifically, he said, “we were disappointed in the transition schedule in how long they (rail operators) had to get those old cars off the rails”. A total of 13 cars were offloaded. The oil is being transferred to The Dalles for transport by rail to its original destination in Tacoma.
Crews have removed all of the oil from the derailed cars. Today through end of the week, the empty tanker cars will be transported by truck to Portland.
The City of Mosier lifted its boil water advisory on Monday for all but two homes on Rock Creek Road.
Water sample tests showed that the water is now safe to drink, ODOT reported.
Crews continue to carefully monitor air and water quality around the derailment site.
Union Pacific said the track in question was previously replaced in 2013 and was inspected twice weekly.
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On Sunday, despite protests from city leaders, rail traffic resumed through Mosier. “Governors [Jay] Inslee and [Kate] Brown must deny permits and leases for oil projects that would mean more trains in OR and Washington”.
