In September, more than a dozen federal, state and local agencies gathered for a day-long emergency preparedness exercise in Windsor Locks. The scenario: responding to the release of hazardous materials from a railway accident.

The training passed without fanfare; media didn’t pick up DEEP’s press release. But this kind of training is particularly relevant in light of the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials in East Palestine, Ohio.

Train derailments aren’t uncommon: While federal data show derailments have declined precipitously since the 1970s, there were still 1,087 in 2021.

New England Central Railroad and Providence and Worcester Railroad are the freight railroads operating in southeastern Connecticut; both are owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. NECR runs 384 miles from New London through Vermont.

It’s unclear exactly what is shipped via rail in Connecticut, hazardous or not. G&W spokesperson Tom Ciuba said due to security reasons “and to uphold shipper confidentiality,” New England Central Railroad doesn’t release specifics on its traffic.

Electric Boat spokesperson Dan McFadden confirmed EB utilizes rail in the transportation of materials to its facilities but said “due to reasons concerning security and market competition, we do not comment on the specifics of those shipments.”

Cmdr. Steven Koch, deputy commander of Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound, said the drill in September involved a tanker truck striking a rail car, leading to a train derailment.

Among the other agencies taking part were the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, State Emergency Response Commission, Connecticut National Guard, and fire departments from Enfield and Windsor Locks.

They utilize the Incident Command System, a standardized approach to emergency response that was developed in the 1970s and is now used in scenarios as far ranging as wildfires, active shootings, and large events such as the Super Bowl.

Koch described the steps in the exercise in September.

The first calls for identifying what hazardous material was involved and how to secure it, and then looking at how to protect the neighboring communities, which could mean evacuation.

According to the American Chemistry Council, rail hazmat accidents rates have dropped 55% since 2012 and less than 1% of all train accidents have resulted in a hazmat release.

The Federal Railroad Administration characterizes rail transportation as “the safest method of moving large quantities of chemicals over long distances,” and hazmat incidents on highways are far more common.

According to a USA TODAY analysis, hazmat cargo is spilled much more frequently from equipment failure than derailments, but the 18 derailments involving hazmat cargo last year caused 20 times as much financial damage ― $41.6 million ― as hazmat leaks from other causes.

Local readiness and response

So, how would agencies in Connecticut respond to the derailment of a train carrying hazardous materials?

“You have to look at everything from cutting power to the area to evacuations to water lines that might be in the area that might be affected,” said Rick Swan, DEEP’s assistant division director for emergency response. He said “life safety is number one,” and after that, DEEP looks at containment and mitigation.

First responders look to slow or stop leaks. But he said sometimes that can’t be done safely, “so you’re better off letting things burn and staying at a safe distance.”

Swan said DEEP does drills throughout the year and that fire departments do their own drills, because “they know their areas of concern, they know how to get out to the remote parts of various tracks.”

New London Fire Chief Tom Curcio said his department regularly trains with the hazardous materials team at the Naval Submarine Base, the premier hazmat team in the region and one that is occasionally called to support neighboring towns with chemical emergencies.

Submarine Base Fire Chief Thomas A. Clapsadle Jr. said the base hosted about 15 agencies for a hazmat drill on Feb. 7, though not one involving a train derailment.

But Clapsadle said the department does have specialized equipment to assist in the mitigation of releases from pressurized rail cars. A train track bisects the base, and Emergency Manager John Varone said one of the exercises senior enlisted staff and junior officers must pass is a train derailment.

“We are conscious of the risk that’s there, not just for hazmat, but for the simple fact that’s something that could occur on this installation that we need to be prepared to respond to,” Varone said.

Along with the New London, Mashantucket Tribal, Mohegan Tribal and Norwich fire departments, the Submarine Base Fire Department is part of the Connecticut Eastern Regional Response Integrated Team, the hazmat/weapons of mass destruction response team for the region.

Navy and Coast Guard officials emphasized the importance of mutual aid and maintaining partnerships with other agencies.

Rail safety in Connecticut

The Connecticut State Emergency Response Commission periodically receives reports from freight railways about hazardous freight, DEEP spokesperson Will Healey said in an email.

“SERC also periodically commissions a ‘Commodity Flow Study’ that identifies the flow of hazardous materials through the state’s highways, ports, and rails,” Healey said. The latest report is from 2019, and this found that rail transportation, across 330 miles of track, is less than 1% of hazardous materials transported. The main flow for hazardous materials is from ship and barge, and then interstate highways.

Healey said DEEP is looking to commission a new study this year using a federal grant.

Ciuba, the Genesee & Wyoming spokesperson, said in an email that with derailment critical to the company’s core value of safety, “NECR inspects and maintains all locomotives, equipment and track against regulations governed by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) as well as against our own internal policies that, in many cases, exceed federal standards.”

Ciuba added that all freight railroads can be subject to what’s called the “common carrier obligation,” meaning they can’t refuse to transport hazardous cargo.

“In the event of an incident involving the release of hazardous material, the safety and well-being of those impacted would be NECR’s highest priority, including fully containing the release, cleaning up the scene, and providing support for food, lodging or property damage,” he wrote.

G&W also owns Providence and Worcester Railroad, which operates along Amtrak-owned lines on the southeastern Connecticut shoreline. Amtrak spokesperson Jason Abrams said in an email a variety of factors dictate what commodities a freight operator carriers, such as company, day of the week and business operations.

Abrams said in the event of a derailment or emergency incident, Amtrak would activate its Emergency Operations Plan, which aligns with the guidance of the federal government’s National Incident Management System. He said Amtrak would support the response of the local jurisdiction and offer “assistance to those impacted, technical subject matter expertise on our equipment, and information specific to our crew and passengers.”

Legislators have introduced several bills this session related to rail safety. Rep. Jaime Foster, D-Ellington, and Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, introduced a bill that would authorize the Department of Transportation commissioner to discontinue a lease agreement and freight rights with a freight railroad company if they don’t maintain safety standards, or if the commissioner determines a poorly maintained line is a risk to public safety.

The Transportation Committee also raised a bill authorizing bonds for commercial rail freight line improvements, which is getting a public hearing Monday.

“Thankfully, the Connecticut General Assembly has always prioritized the safety of riders and workers over the profits of large corporations,” Transportation Committee Chair Sen. Christine Cohen, D-Guilford, said in an email statement. She said the committee is constantly working with DOT “to ensure that all modes of transportation are as safe as possible” and will address any issues that arise.

Editor’s note: This version corrects the full name of the company that owns New England Central Railroad and Providence and Worcester Railroad.