Plumas County, CA —A Union Pacific train carrying coal derailed in the canyon of the Middle Fork of the Feather River, a National Wild and Scenic River, on Sunday, Feb. 11.
The incident involved 15 cars, each carrying 118 tons of coal, and an “undetermined amount” was released into the river, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) reported. At least one car entered the river, a renowned wild trout fishery.
CalOES said that 13 of the 15 cars derailed released coal. The agency said the cause of the derailment was a “track defect” — and there were no injuries, fatalities or evacuations.
“Assessments will be underway to determine the environmental impact,” according to the Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR).
“While in the short term coal is not expected to have significant aquatic toxicity impacts, it can potentially have smothering effects on organisms in the river,” OSPR stated. “Cleanup operations continue and biologists are assessing potential ecological impacts and implementing impact avoidance and minimization measures as part of the response."
In a statement to Northstate’s News on Monday, Feb. 12, Union Pacific reported that the 15 cars derailed near the Middle Fork Feather River near the State Highway 70 Feather River Scenic Byway and Camp Layman Rd in Blairsden, CA
“The train cars were carrying coal and traveling to Portola, CA,” the railroad said. “There were no injuries and no hazmat releases. Clean up is underway and estimated to take another day. The incident remains under investigation.”
The Middle Fork is recognized by the US government for its wild beauty and is designated a National Wild and Scenic River for 77.6 miles of its length. The 32.9 mile stretch inaccessible to roads is home to some of the top wild trout fishing in California, according to Wikipedia.
The nearly-100 mile long stream drains about 1,062 square miles of the northern Sierra Nevada and flows into Lake Oroville, the linchpin of the Department of Water Resources’ State Water Project (SWP).
Below are the latest updates from the Unified Command and the CDFW:
UPDATE: 2/13/2024
OES Report # 24-0871; NRC Report # 1391300
**INFORMATION CURRENT AS OF 1530**
INCIDENT INFORMATION
Date Incident Reported: February 11, 2024
Incident Name: Canyon Sub Derailment
Location: Blairsden (Plumas County)
Product Details: Coal
INCIDENT UPDATE
The Unified Command, including representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), CDFW, and Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) continues to respond to a train derailment near Blairsden (Plumas County). Fifteen rail cars (gondolas), all carrying coal, derailed near the Middle Fork of the Feather River. Eight of the derailed gondolas settled in the riverbed, 20 feet below the trackline. Three gondolas spilled part of their contents into the river releasing coal into the water. Investigation into the cause and total amount released is ongoing. Response organizations remain on scene conducting cleanup and mitigation. UPRR mobilized equipment and personnel to successfully remove all but one gondola from the river. Contractors are developing a plan to safely extract the remaining gondola and remove any remaining metal, debris, and spilled coal from the trackline. Rail operations resumed Tuesday evening as track work was completed and inspected.
SAFETY ZONES AND CLOSURES
Currently there have been no incidents or injuries to responders or the public during this response. Safety of responders remains a top priority and the response is closely monitoring the weather and river water levels. After reviewing the Safety Data Sheet for the spilled product and performing a site characterization, air monitoring has been deemed unnecessary. Due to the remote location and limited public access to the incident site, safety zones and closures have not been implemented. 1
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
The response is consolidating spilled coal on the shoreline and fortifying Best Management Practices (BMPs) in anticipation of the precipitation expected over the next two days to mitigate additional impacts from the coal until shoreline cleanup is complete. Additionally, the Environmental Unit, in coordination with federal and other state agencies, is currently developing a plan to conduct sampling and water quality monitoring both up and downriver of the spill site.
Primary and secondary containment boom has been deployed at two sites – one at the derailment site and one downriver.
WILDLIFE IMPACTS
No wildlife impacts have been observed or reported at this time.
QUESTIONS
A joint information center (JIC) was established with representatives from EPA, CDFW, and UPRR. More information will be shared as significant updates to the response occur.
CDFW Update Today:
A Unified Command (UC) has been established in response to the Feb. 11, train derailment near Blairsden in Plumas County. The UC includes representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR).
The incident took place when 15 railcars carrying coal, a non-petroleum product, derailed near the Middle Fork of the Feather River. Three cars entered the water, spilling a portion of their cargo. Operations are underway to remove the third car and repair the railway.
An investigation into the cause and amount released is ongoing. Response organizations remain on-scene conducting cleanup and mitigation. Rail operations are expected to resume Tuesday evening as track work is completed and inspected.
EPA deployed an on-scene coordinator and an emergency response program contractor to the site of the train derailment in Plumas County and both are working within the UC to determine the nature of any environmental impacts from the coal that entered the river.
There have been no observed impacts to fish or wildlife and monitoring will continue. The UC will also be conducting water quality testing. All ongoing environmental data collected will be reviewed by state and federal personnel on-scene.
Land-based remediation has begun, and best management practices have been implemented to keep coal from migrating any further. Efforts to remove derailed cars, as well as in-river remediation, will continue until all federal and state agency requirements are met.