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DOON, Iowa (AP) – Teams struggled on Saturday to clean up a BNSF oil train derailment in northwestern Iowa that was spilling crude oil into floodwaters while authorities were trying to understand the magnitude of the spill.
Thirty-three tank cars derailed Friday, just south of Doon, in the County of Lyon, spilling oil into the surrounding waters due to the Little Rock River's swelling. BNSF spokesman Andy Williams said Saturday that the cause of the derailment had not yet been determined, but a disaster proclamation issued by Governor Kim Reynolds for Lyon and three other counties blamed the floods caused by the rain.
Some officials have speculated that flood waters erode the soil under the railway. The nearby Little Rock River has increased rapidly after heavy rains on Wednesday and Thursday.
The amount of spilled oil was also unknown on Saturday afternoon, Williams said, adding that officials hoped to get a better idea once they were able to reach the derailed tankers.
In the hours following the derailment, the BNSF brought dozens of semi-trailers loaded with equipment to clean the spill, including containment booms, skimmers and vacuum trucks.
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"We are working as fast as we can to clean that," Williams said Saturday. "We had skimmers working since yesterday on the flood waters south of the site."
An important part of this work involves the construction of a temporary road parallel to the tracks to allow cranes that can remove derailed and partially submerged tank cars. Williams said the officials hoped to reach the cars by a certain Saturday afternoon.
The train was carrying oil sands oil from Alberta, Canada, to Stroud, Oklahoma, for ConocoPhillips. ConocoPhillips spokesman Daren Beaudo said each tanker can hold more than 25,000 gallons (20,817 imperial gallons) of oil. He did not know what had happened.
Beaudo also did not know whether the derailed oil cars were newer and safer tankers designed to prevent leaks in the event of an accident.
"We are renting these cars and we are checking with the owners for the exact specifications of the cars," Beaudo said in an email.
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Reynolds was scheduled to visit the derailment site Saturday afternoon as part of a tour of the areas affected by the recent floods.
The derailment also caused concern downstream, including up to Omaha, Nebraska, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) from the derailment site. The spill reached the Rock River, which joins the Big Sioux River before flowing into the Missouri River at Sioux City.
The Omaha Public Water Company, Metropolitan Utilities District, said it was monitoring the pumps that it uses to extract drinking water from the Missouri River.
Rock Valley, in Iowa, just southwest of the derailment, shut down its water wells in the hours following the accident. He intends to drain and clean his wells and use a rural water system until the tests show that his water is healthy.
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For the latest information on the derailment: https://bit.ly/2K1wIAZ
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