Rally Against Oil Trains’ Threat To Water
In the wake of a spate of derailments nationwide, more than 100 protesters rallied near the Oradell Reservoir on Saturday, speaking out against the oil trains that pass across that mainstay of the region’s water supply.
Every week, an estimated 15 to 30 trains carry as much as 3.6 million gallons of volatile crude oil from the Bakken region of North Dakota through eastern Bergen County. The line, which is owned by the transportation company CSX, passes through 11 Bergen County municipalities and across a neck of the reservoir, which is the water supply for 750,000 people in Bergen and Hudson counties.
Coincidentally, a train carrying crude oil derailed in northern Ontario early Saturday, causing numerous tank cars to catch fire and spill into a river system, authorities in the Canadian province said.