Here’s where investigators are focused for December derailment of Custer oil train
CORRECTION: The scope of the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation of the rail cars involved in a Dec. 22 BNSF Railway oil train derailment has been corrected from an earlier version of this story. Also, the NTSB did not characterize the focus of others’ investigations.
Investigations into the derailment and fire of a BNSF Railway oil train in Custer last month appear to be focused away from foul play, with several state and federal agencies involved.
The FBI, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Railroad Administration and the state Utilities and Transportation Commission would not disclose any information this week.
“The Federal Railroad Administration is investigating this incident along with the National Transportation Safety Board and others,” Federal Railroad Administration spokeswoman La Raye Brown told The Bellingham Herald. “We are unable to release any details about this investigation, which we expect to be completed around May.”
Brown said each agency would issue its own report.
State Utilities and Transportation Commission officials are assisting the railroad administration’s investigation, a spokeswoman told The Herald.
NTSB spokesman Christopher O’Neil said the agency is not determining the likely cause of the derailment, but rather examining how the DOT-117 tank cars performed in the crash.
“There has been no evidence found by our investigators at this time to indicate that this was an intentional act,” O’Neil said.
Ten oil tank cars loaded with highly flammable Bakken crude oil derailed at Portal Way and Main Street in the area north of Ferndale shortly before noon Dec. 22, 2020.
FBI agents were at the scene of the incident, along with officials from several local, state and federal agencies.
Concerns had arisen over an intentional derailment because the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office arrested two Bellingham women in late November on suspicion of placing a shunt on the tracks to derail a train.
The FBI Terrorism Task Force has been investigating more than three dozen similar attacks against the railroad in Whatcom and Skagit counties over the past year.
“We do not have any new updates, and, at this point, it would be speculative to connect other events with this incident,” the FBI told The Bellingham Herald in an email Monday.
In last month’s incident, three oil tank cars ruptured and ignited a fire that engulfed five cars, prompting an evacuation notice for residents in the immediate area and stopping traffic on Interstate 5 for part of the afternoon.
“There are multiple investigations still underway at this time by other federal agencies,” BNSF spokeswoman Courtney Wallace said. “Given this, it would be premature to speculate on the underlying cause of the derailment until all investigations have concluded.”
O’Neil said in an interview Tuesday, Jan. 5, that NTSB’s Office of Railroad, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Investigations is focused only on the DOT-117 tank cars involved in the incident.
“The NTSB looks at every accident it investigates individually. If in the course of an investigation we found evidence that suggested similarities to other accidents we investigated, we would follow that evidence to its logical end. We are in the very early stages of this investigation and it is far too early to try to connect any dots to any other accidents involving DOT-117 tank cars.”
He said preliminary findings about the performance of the cars in the derailment would be known in one to three months.
State Department of Ecology spokesman Ty Keltner said the oil didn’t contaminate nearby streams or kill wildlife and Ecology officials will continue to monitor groundwater.
Smoke from the fire didn’t affect local air quality, he added.
Firefighters from several Whatcom County fire departments fought the blaze, including specially trained crews from the nearby two oil refineries, Phillips 66 and BP Cherry Point.
Flames were under control within hours and the fire was allowed to burn itself out.
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 2:01 PM.
