XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, ont.politics   
   XPost: ab.politics, van.general   
   From: ConsRCons@govt.cda   
      
   No really. . . .   
   Not broken wheels.  Not faulty brakes.  Not ice storms or heavy   
   snowfall, not engineer errors. . . .   but 'heavy rain and beavers'  !   
      
   And they want to ship oil from the tarsands across BC to the Pacific   
   Ocean?   
   Could it be that the Angry Beavers are having their say on our   
   extraction/shipment of toxic resources?   
      
   Let's all give our heads a shake and hope we hear more than rattling.   
   ________________________________   
   CBC News Posted: Jan 12, 2014   
      
      
   CN Rail says beavers, rain to blame for Burnaby derailment   
      
      
   7 cars carrying coal bound for North Vancouver's Neptune Terminals went   
   off the rails in Burnaby   
   Coal train derails in Burnaby, B.C.	   
      
      
   CN Rail has completed its initial investigation into the derailment of   
   seven coal cars in Burnaby, B.C., Saturday morning, and says that heavy   
   rain and the workmanship of beavers are to blame.   
      
   Emily Hamer, CN Rail regional manager for public and government affairs,   
   said that environmental factors undermined the tracks near Burnaby Lake.   
      
   "We've confirmed that the cause of the derailment yesterday in Burnaby   
   was due to heavy rainfall that led to a beaver dam washout," she told   
   CBC News Sunday.   
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   "It's not something that happens a lot, but it was certainly the cause   
   of yesterday's derailment," she said.   
      
   At around 11 a.m. seven rail cars carrying coal on a westbound CP Rail   
   train operated by a CN Rail crew derailed near the intersection of   
   Cariboo Road and Government Street. Four of the cars remained upright,   
   but three were on their sides and some of the contents had spilled out   
   into a ditch, Hamer said.   
      
   Two crew members were on board at the time, but no injuries were reported.   
      
   Burnaby RCMP Cpl. Leanne Dunlop said Saturday that it appeared that the   
   ground had washed out.   
      
   "What it looks like is there's a portion of the rail that would have   
   typically been on top of solid land that appears has eroded into the   
   track area," she said.   
      
   Transportation Safety Board spokesman John Cottreau said Saturday it was   
   too early for his agency to determine the cause of the derailment, but   
   an investigator was at the scene.   
      
   "He's taking photographs, he's documenting the site, he's taking   
   measurements and interviewing witnesses," Cottreau said. "He's gathering   
   all the information that he can so a decision can be made on what type   
   of investigation we're going to do on this occurrence."   
   Environmental concerns grow   
      
   Crews from several agencies and companies worked overnight to clean up   
   the site, but environmental groups are concerned that the coal that   
   already spilled is posing a threat to fish in the nearby waterways.   
      
   The spill happened next to Burnaby Lake, which connects the Still Creek   
   to the Brunette River, and ultimately the Fraser River.   
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   Nick Kvenich, who volunteers with Burnaby Streamkeepers, explained that   
   coal dust can be hazardous to fish.   
      
   "One thing we don't want to see is you don't want to see this stuff   
   blacken the creek because then it gets into the gills of fish, and that   
   means they have a hard time to breathe," he said.   
      
   Kevin Washbrook, with the group Voters Taking Action on Climate Change,   
   believes things are only going to get worse if coal transfer facility   
   expansion continues in the region. Washbrook's group is concerned about   
   plans to expand a coal transfer facility at the Surrey Fraser Docks, and   
   about plans already underway to increase coal shipments out of North   
   Vancouver, where this train was headed.   
      
   "The port authority just approved a potential tripling of coal out of   
   Neptune Terminals," he said.   
   ____________________________________   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)