From: otterpower@xhotmail.com
On 4/17/2014 11:09 AM, Stephen Sprunk wrote:
> On 16-Apr-14 22:57, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>> Stephen Sprunk wrote:
>>> On 16-Apr-14 08:58, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>>>> conklin wrote:
>>>>> It seems that when local officials tried to look into a
>>>>> derailment in Westford, MA, they were threatened with arrest.
>>>>
>>>> So what? The town manager and fire chief would have told the
>>>> police that they were there to investigate the incident and
>>>> determine what local emergency response was necessary, and
>>>> wouldn't have been arrested.
>>>
>>> They might have been questioned by the feds, but I doubt they would
>>> have been arrested for asking questions themselves. OTOH, "look
>>> into" might mean more than just asking questions.
>>
>> What are you babbling about? No railroad calls FBI on a trespassing
>> complaint.
>
> No, but they might call the feds about a suspected terrorist.
>
>>>> Any company official can make a police report for trespass, but
>>>> that doesn't mean someone would have been arrested. If you don't
>>>> want to be intimidated, don't let yourself be intimidated.
>>>>
>>>> It's not like these two people wouldn't have been known to their
>>>> own police department.
>>>
>>> But they wouldn't be "known" or "untouchable" to railroad police
>>> or federal agents; they'd be potential terrorists.
>>
>> Last I looked, making a false police report
>
> Who said the report would be false? If someone is trespassing on a
> railroad and asking questions about hazmat, and I correctly report those
> facts to the police, that report is not false. It is up to the police
> to investigate whether a crime has occurred.
The article says the Pan Am manager, who presumably threatened the two
key civil officials charged with responsibility for handling such
accidents, called the police. Not the F.B.I. Not the railroad police.
It is more than notable that the fire chief in the photograph
accompanying the article was prominently wearing a shiny badge and what
looks like an identification tag, something he surely did when checking
the scene of a possible major dangerous accident. That casts a very
clear shadow on the railroad's actions.
Why The Times did not report the two-week-old news about Pan Am being
fined by the Federal Railroad Administration is a question only Jill
Abramson might be able to answer. Local press coverage was easily
available to one and all, although the spelling of "gage" might be a bit
rare:
Officials: Pan Am to be fined for Westford derailment
By Samantha Allen , sallen@lowellsun.com
Updated: 04/01/2014 06:59:44 PM EDT
Westford fire and police stand by as workers from PanAm, (railroad),
work on placing three tank cars and two box cars back on track in the
Graniteville
Westford fire and police stand by as workers from PanAm, (railroad),
work on placing three tank cars and two box cars back on track in the
Graniteville section of Westford . SUN/ David H. Brow (David H. Brow)
WESTFORD -- Federal Railroad Administration officials have determined
the train derailment in February was caused by a track issue and Pan Am
Railways will be fined.
According to Rep. Niki Tsongas' office, FRA inspectors went to the site
of the train derailment on Bridge Street in the Graniteville
neighborhood following an incident Feb. 19, where five cars slipped off
the track. After walking the site, the administration determined there
was a "wide gage" track condition. Pan Am, based in Billerica, will be
charged with a violation for that issue which generally carries a $5,000
fine, according to Tsongas' Regional Director Jane Adams. Town Manager
Jodi Ross said she was made aware of the development last Wednesday.
----
This photo, provided by Westford Town Manager Jodi Ross, shows cars off
their track in a Feb. 19 train derailment. Local and state officials
have been openly critical of Pan Am Railways for not notifying the town
of the incident and the corporation will be fined for a track violation,
according to the Federal Railroad Administration. Courtesy photo.
----
Around 11 p.m. Feb. 19, cars slipped off their track right over the
town's Stony Brook aquifer, two of which were carrying liquid-petroleum
gas, a chemical with a risk for explosion. A Pan Am representative said
town officials were not notified of the event then because it was not an
"urgent matter" but when town officials learned of the incident the next
morning, they readied the neighborhood for evacuation and set up shelters.
Ross has been openly critical of the corporation since the incident for
not notifying the town of the event. She said on the day of the
derailment, she only learned of the situation when Westford Fire Chief
Joe Targ happened to drive by the scene. The cars appeared to be leaning
over a bridge above the town brook in Graniteville.
Once on scene, Ross said she and Targ were ordered by Rail General
Manager Luke McCaul to get off the tracks. Ross said they were told they
were trespassing even after the two identified themselves as Westford
officials; she added Police Chief Tom McEnaney then called to inform her
he was contacted by Boston and Maine Railroad Police for reports of
trespassers near the cars.
"I was not happy about that," Ross said in an interview in February.
Pan Am officials told The Sun they would conclude their investigation on
what caused the accident some time in late February. The corporation has
yet to comment on the situation and has not returned multiple calls to
The Sun on the matter in the last several weeks.
Pan Am Vice President Cynthia Scarano spoke at a selectmen's meeting
this week in Greenland, N.H., according to Seacoastonline.com, in which
she stated "every regulation was followed" in the Westford derailment
case. The news organization reports on Monday, New Hampshire residents
voiced their concerns at a meeting related to Pan Am's proposal to
increase a number of their cars carrying propane through the area there.
Greenland officials said at that time they worried about the company's
communication and "trust" issues, citing the Westford incident as an
example.
Since the Westford incident, the state Department of Environmental
Protection has voiced their concerns for the threat of contamination at
the Bridge Street site. Pan Am must now perform "immediate-response
actions" to evaluate the situation. Local politicians from the state and
congressional delegation, including U.S. Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth
Warren, have also insisted Pan Am President David Fink meet with
Westford officials; they sent out a letter making the request last week.
http://www.lowellsun.com/latestnews/ci_25470138/officials-pan-am
be-fined-westford-derailment
Even the revered Boston Globe, likely far more occupied with covering
Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus, seemed to have difficulty keeping up with
essential news about other potential dangers:
"As town officials and state and federal lawmakers press for a meeting
with Pan Am Railways president David A. Fink to discuss the February
derailment in Westford, inspectors with the Federal Railroad
Administration have determined that the accident was caused by a track
problem.
According to Michael Hartigan, spokesman for US Representative Niki
Tsongas, Pan Am Railways could be fined up to $5,000 for a widened track
just before the site of the derailment.
According to the Federal Railroad Administration website , “One of the
major causes of derailments is widening of the track gauge due to
weakened ties, thereby allowing the pair of rails to spread too far
apart from each other under load and causing the wheels of a passing
train to drop between the rails.”
The derailment occurred about 11 p.m. Feb. 19. Fourteen Pan Am freight
cars slipped off the track at the Bridge Street overpass, adjacent to
the town’s Stony Brook aquifer in the densely populated Graniteville
neighborhood. Two of the cars were carrying liquid petroleum gas, which
has a risk of explosion.
Pan Am, headquartered in Billerica, never notified local leaders of the
derailment, town officials said. They learned of it about 9:30 the
following morning, when Westford Fire Chief Joe Targ drove by the scene
and saw that at least two freight cars were very close to the edge of a
15-foot embankment at the Bridge Street overpass.
State and federal environmental officials were called to the scene and
Westford police went door to door to warn residents of a possible
evacuation. Emergency shelters also were set up.
Five hours after the derailed freight cars were spotted by Targ, work
crews were able to pull the cars back onto the track.
According to Cynthia Scarano, Pan Am executive vice president,
notification was not required. No one was endangered by the derailment,
she said, noting that the cars carrying LPG were heavily constructed and
remained upright.
“All the safety regulations were followed,” Scarano said. “There was no
release” of any hazardous material.
Had the derailment been an urgent matter, Scarano said she would have
called the town.
But Westford Town Manager Jodi Ross said Pan Am’s lack of notification
was “irresponsible,” and asked state and federal lawmakers to intervene
in hopes their involvement would lead to better communication from Pan
Am and force the railway company “to take appropriate safety precautions
to protect our residents and our aquifer.” "
--http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/north/2014/04/05/we
tford-seeks-answers-from-pan-derailment/EWTSbfNg4HeSJhn7mbMIZO/story.html
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