Posts by William Wallace

(Source: Associated Press, June 13, 2017) THE DALLES, Ore. — A board has affirmed an Oregon county’s decision to deny Union Pacific Railroad’s proposed track expansion along the Columbia River where an oil train derailed last year. The Columbia River Gorge Commission on Tuesday found Wasco County commissioners had evidence to reject the railroad’s application.…

(Source: The Oregonian, June 13, 2017) PORTLAND, Ore. — With visions of last year’s fiery oil train derailment in Mosier, environmental groups succeeded Tuesday in delaying — for now – a decision on Portland General Electric’s plan to sell nine diesel storage tanks to a company looking to expand ethanol and crude oil exports from…

(Source: DeSmog Blog, June 12, 2017) NEW YORK — USD Partners, a rail terminal operator owned in part by Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs, has signed a nearly three year deal to facilitate moving tar sands by train from where it is extracted in Alberta, Canada, to an offloading terminal in Stoud, Oklahoma, in a…

(Source: Amtrak press release, June 14, 2017) SEATTLE — Amtrak has announced it will build a $28 million locomotive service facility in Seattle. This is Amtrak’s third major investment in the Seattle facility that provides services for two long-distance trains, the Empire Builder and Coast Starlight; Amtrak Cascades state supported corridor service; and maintenance for…

(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, June 12, 2017) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following is a statement by Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa on three Department of Labor announcements last week that reverse rules put in place during the Obama administration which required companies to report outside union busting activities, as well as…