Referred to: The Energy and Environment Committee (Chairman Bartels and

Legislators Greene, Parete, Ronk, and Wawro)

Chairman of the Energy and Environment Committee, Tracey A. Bartels, and

Legislators Archer, Greene, Gregorius, Loughran, Provenzano, and Wishnick offer

the following:

WHEREAS, crude oil is increasingly being transported along railroads from

production fields in the west to ports including Albany, New York for transfer to

barges and ships to be transported on the Hudson River to East Coast refineries,

particularly from the Bakken shale oil formation of North Dakota and heavy tar sands

oil fields of Alberta, Canada; and

WHEREAS, the nationwide volume of crude oil transported by rail has

increased to more than 400,000 carloads in 2013 compared to 9,500 carloads in 2008,

a more than 40-fold increase; as much as 20% of the highly volatile crude oil

extracted from the Bakken formation is transported through New York State

communities and ecosystems; and

WHEREAS, crude oil from the Bakken shale deposits has been proven to be

more explosive and more corrosive than typical crude oils, and heavy, sinking oils

from tar sands formations have been found to be much more viscous than typical

crude oils, making the protection of public safety and environmental health from

these particular types of oils, as well as spill response and remediation, more difficult

and more dangerous; and

WHEREAS, crude oil is mainly transported in class DOT-111 rail tank cars

designed for general purpose liquid transport, not for hazardous cargos, despite the

fact that these railcars lack even the most basic safety measures (such as shields,

pressure vents, or double hulls) despite repeated recommendations from the National

Transportation Safety Board over the past thirty years, most recently in March 2012

and January 2014, that they not be used for crude oil transport; and

WHEREAS, class DOT-111 railcars are unacceptably dangerous, particularly

in light of the woeful state of railroad enforcement, inspection, oversight, and safety,

highlighted by the testimony of the Chair of the Surface Transportation Board

testified in April, 2014, that “no community is prepared for a worst-case scenario”

for crude oil-by-rail disasters; and

Page - 2 -

Resolution No. 183 May 20, 2014

Urging The New York State Department Of Environmental

Conservation (DEC) To Take Immediate Action To Ensure The

Safety Of Communities Along The Routes Of Crude Oil Shipments

And Address Potential Impacts Of A Crude Oil Spill In The Hudson

River Affecting Ulster County Shoreline Property, Environmental

Resources And Drinking Water

WHEREAS, there have been a series of crude oil train derailments in the

United States and Canada that have led to loss of life, loss of property, and

significant economic and environmental damage, including the loss of 47 lives in

Lac-Megantic, Quebec, in July 2013; and

WHEREAS, there have been at least four oil train derailments in New York

State since December 2013, including those in West Nyack, Town of Ulster, Selkirk,

and Cheektowaga; and

WHEREAS, CSX Corporation was fined $10,000 for failing to timely report

its two February 2014 oil train derailments in Ulster and Selkirk, New York; and

WHEREAS, a train carrying crude oil blocked access to about 60 homes in the

Town of Saugerties on March 31, 2014, for approximately 90 minutes without

notifying local emergency responders; and

WHEREAS, joint state-federal "inspection blitzes" have identified dozens of

train and rail car safety defects requiring corrective action in rail yards in Albany and

Buffalo, highlighting the chronic, widespread and acute risks facing our communities

and environment, but no such inspections have been performed on tracks in Ulster

County; and

WHEREAS, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation has granted

numerous permits to subsidiaries of Global Partners LP and Buckeye Partners LP

allowing for the transfer of up to 2.8 billion gallons per year of crude oil from train to

barge or ship in the Port of Albany, for transport down the Hudson River; and

WHEREAS, the Stena Primorsk, the first tanker carrying crude oil on the

Hudson River, ran aground and pierced its outer hull just six miles downstream of the

Port of Albany in December 2012, though none of the 12 million gallons of oil it

carried were spilled; and

Page - 3 -

Resolution No. 183 May 20, 2014

Urging The New York State Department Of Environmental

Conservation (DEC) To Take Immediate Action To Ensure The

Safety Of Communities Along The Routes Of Crude Oil Shipments

And Address Potential Impacts Of A Crude Oil Spill In The Hudson

River Affecting Ulster County Shoreline Property, Environmental

Resources And Drinking Water

WHEREAS, recent barge accidents resulting in petroleum spills in the

Mississippi River and Galveston Bay have shown that even double-hulled vessels are

not protective in all accidents; and

WHEREAS, approximately two crude oil unit trains per day currently travel

through Ulster County, including the city of Kingston, Towns of Saugerties, Ulster,

Esopus, Lloyd and Marlborough, as well as near critical public infrastructure

including hospitals, municipal buildings, water and sewer treatment plants, public

education facilities, and private businesses; and

WHEREAS, approximately one articulated barge per day carrying 4 million

gallons and one tanker per week carrying 7 million gallons currently pass Ulster

County on the Hudson River; and

WHEREAS, Global Partners LP through its subsidiary Global Companies

LLC (Global) has proposed expanding its oil terminals in the Town of New Windsor

to handle between 1.3 billion and 1.8 billion gallons of crude oil per year, and the

expanded facility could double the number of trains and marine vessels carrying

crude oil that pass through or near Ulster County; and

WHEREAS, there have been no spill response drills in Ulster County waters;

and

WHEREAS, Ulster County shorelines include private residences and

businesses, public parks, and critical public infrastructure including drinking water

intakes for Port Ewen and Town of Lloyd that would be at significant risk in the case

of a crude oil spill; and

WHEREAS, tourism based on a clean environment is an important part of

Ulster County's economy; and

WHEREAS, Ulster County includes several state-designated "significant

habitats" deemed "irreplaceable" that could be severely degraded in case of an oil

spill, including Black Creek, Esopus Estuary, Esopus Meadows, Kingston

Poughkeepsie Deepwater, Rondout Creek and the Flats; now, therefore be it

Page - 4 -

Resolution No. 183 May 20, 2014

Urging The New York State Department Of Environmental

Conservation (DEC) To Take Immediate Action To Ensure The

Safety Of Communities Along The Routes Of Crude Oil Shipments

And Address Potential Impacts Of A Crude Oil Spill In The Hudson

River Affecting Ulster County Shoreline Property, Environmental

Resources And Drinking Water

RESOLVED, the Ulster County Legislature finds the transport of crude oil,

especially Bakken and heavy crudes, by rail and marine vessel through our

community presents an immediate, significant risk for the people, environment, and

economy of our region; and, be it further

RESOLVED, the members of the Ulster County Legislature urge the New

York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to immediately order

a full environmental impact study of the proposed expansion of Global's oil terminal

in New Windsor, including the potential impacts of increased crude oil transport by

train, barge, or ship through Ulster County; and, be it further

RESOLVED, the Ulster County Legislature additionally urges the DEC to

immediately rescind its Notice of Complete Application and Negative Declaration of

Significance for Global’s proposed expansion of crude oil shipments at its Albany

Terminal to include the ability to heat heavy crude oil, to allow it to be transloaded

from rail to vessel and shipped down the Hudson River along the Ulster County

shoreline, pending Global’s submission of complete responses to DEC’s March 24,

2014 information requests; and, be it further

RESOLVED, the Ulster County Legislature seeks the DEC’s action to

immediately rescind permits granted to Global and Buckeye allowing for the

transport of up to 2.8 billion gallons per year of crude oil on the Hudson River, order

full environmental impact studies, including the potential impacts of a crude oil spill

in the Hudson River affecting Ulster County shoreline property, environmental

resources and drinking water; and, be it further

RESOLVED, that the Clerk of the Ulster County Legislature shall send copies

of this Resolution to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York State

Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), New York State Senators John

Bonacic, William Larkin, James Seward, and Cecilia Tkaczyk, and New York State

Assembly Members Kevin Cahill, Peter Lopez, Frank Skartados and Claudia Tenney;

and, be it further

RESOLVED, that the Clerk of the Ulster County Legislature shall send a copy

of this resolution to each Town Clerk in Ulster County and to the Clerk of the City of

Kingston for their memorialization,

Page - 5 -

Resolution No. 183 May 20, 2014

Urging The New York State Department Of Environmental

Conservation (DEC) To Take Immediate Action To Ensure The

Safety Of Communities Along The Routes Of Crude Oil Shipments

And Address Potential Impacts Of A Crude Oil Spill In The Hudson

River Affecting Ulster County Shoreline Property, Environmental

Resources And Drinking Water

and move its adoption.

 ADOPTED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:

 AYES: 22 NOES: 0

 (Absent: Legislator Provenzano)

Passed Committee: Energy and Environment on May 13, 2014

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

NONE

STATE OF NEW YORK

 ss:

COUNTY OF ULSTER

This is to certify that I, the undersigned Clerk of the Legislature of the County of Ulster have compared the

foregoing resolution with the original resolution now on file in the office of said clerk, and which was adopted by said

Legislature on the 20th Day of May, 2014, and that the same is a true and correct transcript of said resolution and of the

whole thereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of the County of Ulster this 23rd Day of May in

the year Two Thousand and Fourteen.

|s| Victoria A. Fabella

Victoria A. Fabella, Clerk

Ulster County Legislature