Onondaga County Emergency Management officials say there has been an increased focus on how to respond to any potential incident involving a train carrying crude oil. The volume of shipments of volatile crude from North Dakota on what critics have called flawed, outdated tank cars has skyrocketed through the county on its way to the Port of Albany.
That’s raised concerns from federal, state, and city officials about the danger and ability to respond.
Wisely says he's also been on conference calls with state officials, and Gov. Cuomo has commissioned a task force to review incident prevention response capacity specific to crude oil. He says the state is also working with the Federal Railroad Agency to inspect rails.
CONCERN IN ALBANY
Albany County officials have recently tried to reassure the public over concerns about the crude oil trains that travel through the city. Officials have acknowledged that the trains pose a significant risk but they also admit that depending on the nature of an accident, there’s little they can do.
