Politics & Government

Norfolk Southern Asks for Ethanol Offloading Increase

Alexandria facility has had spills in the past.

City Manager Rashad Young is criticizing a request from Norfolk Southern for a permit to increase the number of rail cars containing ethanol that can be offloaded at its Alexandria facility.

In a letter to the director of the Northern Regional Office, Thomas Faha, Young said the city has “longstanding serious concerns about the operations at this facility. This proposed expansion would undoubtedly increase the risks from the facility and raise the concerns from the community.”

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Alexandria City Council and community leaders received the request Monday afternoon from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Norfolk Southern wants to increase the offloading rail cars from the current 14 cars to 30 cars per day, according to a city news release.

The transloading facility was previously exempted from the Department of Environmental Quality’s air permitting requirements, but increased emissions from the proposed expanded offloading operations triggered the need for an air permit.

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The transloading facility, located near Van Dorn Metro station, has been the site of past spills. The latest came in February, when the facility had a 100-gallon ethanol spill.

The Alexandria Fire Department and the railroad were at loggerheads over a September 2012 spill at the transloading facility. The city issued a statement at the time saying the fire department was not notified in a timely manner.

According to that September statement, railroad officials notified the National Response Center, which notified Virginia’s Department of Emergency Management, which then notified the Alexandria Fire Department of the spill. Norfolk Southern did not notify the fire department directly.

In September 2009, Norfolk Southern failed to notify the city of an ethanol spill at the same facility.

A represenative from Norfolk Southern could not immediately be reached for comment. City leaders have requested the Northern Regional Office of the Department of Environmental Quality to hold a public hearing on the draft permit in Alexandria.

Young also requested an informational meeting on the proposal and a public comment period of at least 60 days.


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