Ericksen seeks legislative hearings on claim of sabotage in Custer oil train fire
State Sen. Doug Ericksen is urging the Legislature to examine recent allegations that a criminal act may have caused an oil train to derail and burn in rural Whatcom County late last year.
“That this derailment might have been the result of deliberate sabotage ought to horrify every one of us, even those who oppose the use of fossil fuels,” Ericksen said in an emailed statement Wednesday, June 9.
“We know many environmental organizations have a deep-seated ideological opposition to the use of fossil fuels, and that the heated rhetoric surrounding this issue has whipped some misguided individuals into a fervor. Conflating incidents like these with peaceful protest is to condone acts of domestic terrorism,” he said.
No official cause of the derailment and fire has been released.
Ericksen, a Ferndale Republican, represents the 42nd District covering northern Bellingham and northern Whatcom County.
He also used allegations in recent news reports to renew a call for legislation such as his measure seeking tough penalties on disruptive protests, the Preventing Economic Destruction Act, which was held in committee and never got a vote.
His district includes Custer, where 10 oil tank cars loaded with highly flammable Bakken crude oil derailed at Portal Way and Main Street shortly before noon Dec. 22, 2020, as it headed toward the Phillips 66 refinery at Cherry Point.
Three tank cars caught fire and nearby residents were evacuated for several hours as firefighters brought the blaze under control.
No injuries were reported, and damage was contained to railroad property.
State Rep. Sharon Shewmake of Bellingham, one of two Democrats who represent the 42nd District in the state House, praised the emergency crews and said lawmakers should let investigators finish their work.
“Workers acted heroically to prevent further tragedy in Custer and we owe it to them to pass solutions proactively, rather than waiting for disaster to strike,” Shewmake told The Bellingham Herald. “The FBI is still investigating the disaster and any recommendations they have will be carefully examined by the legislature. Safety is not a partisan issue.”
Shewmake said that Ericksen’s measure would punish peaceful protesters without preventing terrorism.
“We already have severe laws to punish sabotage,” Shewmake said in an email. “We can make our trains safer by protecting and supporting rail workers so they are alert on the job (SB 5065), ensuring they have the tools and staffing to prevent and mitigate disaster (HB 1841), and ensuring our rail safety guidelines are using best available practice (funding in SB 5092). Sen. Ericksen has voted against all three of these bills, even when they had Republican co-sponsors and wide bipartisan support.”
Investigation continuing
Investigators from several state and federal agencies — including the FBI, the Federal Railroad Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, as well as the railroad itself — have participated in an effort to learn what caused the train to jump the tracks on a snowy December morning.
Officials from the FBI and the Federal Railroad Administration have told The Herald several times that they are withholding their reports until the NTSB releases its findings.
That’s a process that can take months, and sometimes years.
“There has been no evidence found by our investigators at this time to indicate that this was an intentional act,” NTSB spokesman Christopher O’Neil told The Bellingham Herald in January.
O’Neil said the NTSB is not determining the likely cause of the derailment, but rather it is examining how the DOT-117 tank cars performed in the crash.
But a recent news report from KUOW-FM, the National Public Radio affiliate in Seattle, quotes a retired NTSB investigator and railroad union officials who say that the way the train uncoupled and jumped the tracks was indeed sabotage.
Further, two women are facing federal terrorism charges in connection with several incidents in 2020 where shunts were placed on a track in an apparent attempt to derail trains.
Taken together, the incidents deserve legislative scrutiny before the start of the 2022 session, Ericksen said.
