Oil Train Community Forum - 8/28/2014
Join LCC and partners at the Oil Train Community Forum on 8/28/2014 from 7-9 PM. Photo by Kevin Burkholder/Eastern Railroad News.
Co-sponsored by the Lake Champlain Committee, Adirondack Council, Adirondack Mountain Club, and the Center for Biological Diversity.
City Hall Auditorium
41 City Hall Place, Plattsburgh, NY
7:00 - 9:00 PM
Free Admission
Experts will discuss risks to the environment, schools and communities from transport of explosive Bakken crude oil on rail lines between Montreal and Albany.
Hear about federal spill-response plans; threats to fisheries and drinking water; risks to local schools, homes, and businesses; and the potential for additional risks if trains start shipping tar-sands crude as well as Bakken oil.
Find out what you can do to help local, state and federal officials protect our communities, farmland, tourism, wildlife and water. Lake Champlain, local rivers including the Saranac, Ausable and Boquet; and, the Adirondack Park, which contains 100 miles of rail corridor, are all in harm’s way.
8/28/14 Oil Transport Community Forum Panelists
Eric Day, Director Clinton County Office of Emergency Services
Don Jaquish, Director Essex County Emergency Services
Eric and Don will provide an overview of the issues they're monitoring for the counties and explain and share any concerns they have regarding emergency response capabilities and beyond.
Carl Pellegrino and Doug Kodama, On-scene Coordinators for Response & Prevention Branch EPA Region 2
Carl and Doug will provide an update on the EPA spill response plans.
Claire Barnett, Executive Director Healthy Schools Network
Claire will discuss the proximity of schools to the oil transport route.
Mark Malchoff, Extension Program Leader, and Aquatic Resource Specialist Lake Champlain Sea Grant Program
Mark will cover impacts to the fishery and the challenges of species recovery in the event of a spill.
A moderated Question and Answer session will follow the panelists' presentations.
The Champlain Valley has become a conduit for trains laden with explosive Bakken crude oil. How well are our communities prepared to deal with a tragedy on the scale of that which devastated Lac Megantic, Quebec just over a year ago? What ecological impacts would result from a derailment on the shores of Lake Champlain?
Learn more about the risks oil trains pose to the North Country and steps community, state and federal governments need to take to respond to and prevent disasters.
