Railroad Right-of-Way Environmental Strategies

Transcription

1 Railroad Right-of-Way Environmental Strategies Melvin L. Burda Director Environmental Operations The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company 4200 Deen Road Fort Worth, Texas (817) (817) fax

2 Railroad Right of Way Environmental Strategies By Melvin L. Burda Director Environmental Operations Burlington Northern Santa Fe Environmental compliance is just good business. This is especially true for the rail industry. The Railroads have done a very good job in addressing hazardous waste generation, industrial wastewater, stormwater and air pollutants at its fixed facilities. These programs are well developed, understood and implemented. These same environmental regulations also and equally pertain to railroad activities associated with track, structures, telecommunications and signal maintenance and construction. This paper will draw parallels between railroad fixed facilities and roadway environmental compliance issues and will provide insight into sound environmental management programs to address these Engineering lead activities.

3 Railroad Right-of-Way Environmental Strategies Melvin L. Burda Director Environmental Operations The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company Environmental compliance is just good business. This is especially true for the rail industry. The railroads have done a very good job in addressing hazardous waste generation, industrial wastewater, stormwater and air pollutants at its fixed facilities. These programs are well developed, understood, implemented, and continuously improving. The same environmental regulations also and equally pertain to the railroad activities associated with track, structures, telecommunications and signal maintenance and construction. This paper will draw parallels between railroad fixed facilities and roadway environmental compliance issues and will provide insight into sound, environmental management programs to address these engineering-led activities. Gang Headquarters and Material Storage Yards The similarities between engineering activity associated to Maintenance of Way, Signal, Structure and Telecommunication Gang headquarters and those of fixed facilities, such as mechanical shops, are very similar. The environmental regulations, which include permits and plans, are equal. There is no distinction between a section gang headquarters and a locomotive shop in the environmental regulations, except for the size of the facility, one may be a

4 conditionally exempt small quantity generator CESQG while the other may be a small quantity generator SQG. All environmental issues, such as hazardous and solid waste management, industrial water discharge, storage tanks, stormwater runoff, used oil and batteries, are all equally regulated if the source is from a signal gang or a car shop. Even though a gang may relocate and operate out of gang cars or along the right-of-way, when it is in a stationary or fixed point setting, all regulations apply to that point. Permits such as stormwater for maintenance areas or fueling activities for gang equipment are required. If you have a portable or fixed storage tank for diesel fuel, lubricating or hydraulic oils, and it meets the criteria of capacity in excess of 660 gallons, a Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure plan is required. Also a stormwater permit may be required for the fueling activities associated to the tank. The stormwater permit outlines the need for inspections and bookkeeping activities. These requirements are the same as those for a 300,000 gallon diesel tank at a locomotive fueling platform. All chemicals and lubricants must be properly stored, managed and maintained. All containers must be appropriately labeled, and whenever possible, stored so that they do not come in contact with rainwaters which may contribute pollutants to stormwater runoff. All hazardous materials must be stored appropriately. Small container of flammable materials should be stored in flammable cabinets. Hazardous materials should be appropriately labeled and stored in a secure lockable area that the general public cannot access. One of the most significant things that you can do as a railroad manager of one of these gang headquarters is to ensure that the housekeeping is up to your company standards. If a regulator comes on property to conduct an environmental inspection, first impressions are very important

5 and can have dramatic affects on the outcome of the inspection. If the inspector observes a well organized site that is free of debris with all materials arranged, labeled and stored off of the ground on pallets or racks, the first impression is that you have a well-organized, well-planned and well-thought out operation. If, on the other hand, the inspector observes litter and debris scattered about with materials in disarray, the assumption will be that your management style is also equally in disarray and that environmental issues are probably not taken seriously. The inspectors will probably look more closely at your records for errors and omissions. The maintenance of way activities out in the field raises its own interesting set of environmental issues that must be considered. The staging of materials in the field establishes a temporary fixed facility. As materials move to the field, they must be properly transported and managed. The presence of any chemicals, whether hydraulic oils, diesel fuel, gasoline or cleaners, requires appropriate storage and environmental stewardship at all times. Keep materials away from waters of the United States. Product environmental stewardship includes items like all containers being properly labeled and stored in a closed condition. This is very important for worker safety, protecting the environment and also protecting the integrity and usability of the commodities. Product integrity is necessary to protect your rail equipment. Field Issues and Strategies Maintenance of Way (MOW) activities raise several environmental issues. One of the largest is the appropriate handling and disposal of scrap or retired materials. Used railroad crosstie management is a unique solid waste issue that requires preplanned logistical activities to ensure that they are appropriately managed. Management involves removal, collection, temporary storage, transportation and appropriate disposal. Appropriate disposal could include being used

6 as fuel for co-generation of steam and electricity. Several co-generation plants are available across the United States and Canada that use treated woods as a fuel source. If the crossties are in any type of useable condition, there are vendors or contractors that are interested in acquiring the crossties for future use as landscaping timbers or retaining walls. The caution here for the rail industry is to ensure that you have proper paperwork showing the transfer of ownership from the railroad to the vendor and the work is completed with reputable contractors that properly handle the ties. Product liability issues have come up causing some significant liabilities for the inappropriate use or ultimate disposal of used railroad crossties. If the used crossties are simply stockpiled on the property with no intent of reuse, that pile essentially becomes disposal of a solid waste. That is, the pile is now a solid waste landfill, which requires a permit in most states. Failure to have or obtain a permit to operate a landfill can carry severe civil and /or criminal liability. Each railroad should take a look at their strategy for addressing the management of used crosstie reuse, recycle or disposal. The strategies that make the most environmental sense and reduce the potential for future environmental liability should be used. The best current strategy for a company is to utilize the crossties as fuel for co-generation purposes. The logic being the destruction of the crosstie in processing it to fuel. The ultimate combustion of the processed crosstie leaves the generator free from future liabilities. A used crosstie being used as a landscaping timber or being landfilled could continue the railroad s environmental liability forever.

7 Even though such waste materials as used rail, tie plates and spikes are normally considered to be salvage metal, more environmental emphasis is being placed upon the proper management of metals for recycling. If metals are allowed to accumulate, deteriorate and rust away, trace metals from the alloy can become mobile. Areas under scrap metal piles have become contaminated with trace amounts of alloyed metals that have required environmental remediation. The strategy is to make a determination of future need or use for these materials. Each railroad needs to make prompt decisions on the appropriate reuse or sales of scrap metal. If the decision is to sell for recycling, have the materials loaded out and shipped to a recycler as soon as possible. It is strongly recommend that you investigate and audit the recycler that you utilize. If your waste stream (i.e. scrap metal) becomes commingled with other waste streams from other unknown sources, there could be severe environmental ramifications further down the road. These activities involving scrap metal and scrap wood products certainly extends to the construction, structures, bridge and building groups of engineering. Some of these issues directly apply to signal and telecommunications as they also deal with various construction materials and therefore the retirement of certain company materials also. Another environmental issue, which MOW faces, is the maintenance and cleaning of on-track rail equipment. Periodically, track equipment will require maintenance, like the replacement of tamper tools or the replacement of worn out hydraulic lines. In order to work safely on this equipment, the equipment must be cleaned. The cleaning or washing process may include the use of solvents or detergent in water. If this occurs, a waste stream is being generated. Industrial wastewater, (also known as process wastewater ), must be containerized and appropriately processed or disposed.

8 Any solvents, such as mineral spirits, used to wash or remove oils and greases, are potentially hazardous waste. Suspect hazardous waste must be collected and containerized, in appropriate containers such as 55-gallon drums, with accurate labels, which identify the material and potential hazards, and dated at the time the material started to be accumulated. These action items are required under the hazardous waste rules and regulations. Once the barrel is full, it must be appropriately analyzed and correct disposal techniques must be utilized. If the cleaning process generates a wastewater, a full capture system must be utilized. The industrial wastewaters produced must be sent to a wastewater treatment plant that is licensed to treat the type of wastewater being generated. The release of these washwaters directly to the open environment, in other words, the roadbed, is a violation of the Clean Water Act. All wastewaters may only be released through appropriate environmental permits. The permit will specify the criteria for discharge. It will also identify the appropriate level of treatment. The permits are issued by the governmental agency overseeing the wastewater treatment program. The point of interest, the same regulation governing on-track equipment washing, can be extended to the maintenance or washing of company vehicles, such as autos, pickups or gang trucks. If you are washing equipment using any detergents or other products that could deteriorate stormwater runoff, a process water is being generated and should be handled similarly as mentioned under the roadway equipment. Yard Cleaning and Undercutting Other activities that should be scrutinized and appropriate plans made to address potential environmental issues are yard cleaning and right-of-way undercutting. Yard cleaning wastes are

9 produced while cleaning up or collecting excess ballast, brake shoes, broken hoses or small releases of commodities in rail yards. This maintenance activity is required to keep the working area for switching crews free of tripping hazards as outlined by the Federal Rail Administration safety policies. If the materials that are collected from the yard cleaning are indeed ballast, rock, or construction materials, they may be used or reused for their original intent. However, all other items must be scrutinized for appropriateness of reuse. Items such as brake shoes and grain are not appropriate for use as fill or shoulder stabilization materials. This activity would be interpreted by the regulations as disposal. The area where these materials were placed would require either a solid waste landfill permit or removal and disposal at a permitted landfill. In a similar type of scenario, one must understand undercutting. Undercutting is the removal of ballast fines from the road bed area where blinding may have occurred. The blinding of the ballast of course inhibits the ability for the railbed to appropriately drain, therefore causing railbed stabilization issues. Undercutting removes the blinded ballast, screens out the fines and returns the cleaned ballast to the roadbed, thereby re-establishing efficient stormwater drainage. The management of the undercutting fines historically has been dealt with by placing the materials along side on the right-of-way as shoulder stabilization. Under current regulations, each company must scrutinize the content of these fines and the appropriateness of use as stabilization or fill materials. The fines may require chemical analysis to determine the presence of hazardous characteristics. Based on analysis, some of these materials may be regulated as solid waste and potentially hazardous waste. It is up to each railroad at each location to determine the appropriate practices for managing undercutting materials.

10 Signal Batteries For the Signal Department, the primary environmental issue is the maintenance of the signal systems. Batteries have been an integral part of this process for a long time. Both primary and secondary (rechargeable) battery systems must be maintained and replaced periodically. The appropriate handling and management of batteries is essential. Batteries are constructed with base metal plates and caustic electrolytes. Because of the chemical nature of batteries, they are hazardous. Great care must be taken in the handling of these batteries. They are caustic in nature, meaning that they could either contain a caustics or acids. These electrolytes are cause for safety concerns. Used batteries have been put into a special category of hazardous waste known as universal waste. A universal waste is a well understood waste stream with well established recycling and disposal methods and programs in place. People know what the batteries are. They know their characteristics. They have been used for many, many years. Used batteries are still fully regulated as a hazardous waste, but because of the characteristics and the high level of management available, the process has been streamlined by the federal regulations. Used signal batteries may be collected at a designated point for up to one year before they are recycled or shipped for disposal. All paperwork must accompany each of the battery shipments so that appropriate timeline management is maintained. Upon inspection, one must be able to determine the actual length of time that the individual batteries have been stored at the centralized collection area. When shipping used batteries from the field back to central points, environmental and Department of Transportation issues must be addressed. Each driver must have, on the vehicle, a

11 bill of lading indicating the type of materials being transported. All railroad vehicles, including gang and service trucks, are considered to be commercial transporters. The bill of lading also should identify other hazardous materials like acetylene and oxygen tanks, fusses, torpedoes, gasoline, diesel fuel and of course new and used batteries. Under DOT, a bill of lading for used batteries or battery parts can be handwritten and transported back to a central collecting point. However, if these batteries are going to be transported directly to a disposal facility, then both the driver and the vehicle must be appropriately licensed for the transportation of hazardous waste. Be sure to review your individual state or province requirements for appropriate licensing of vehicles and drivers. Transformers Another area of concern is transformers. This will affect the signal, telecommunications, construction, and others using line transmitted electrical service. Transformers, which contain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), are regulated by the Toxic Substance Control Act. Other environmental regulations govern equipment retirement. As long as a PCB transformer is serviceable, it can be kept in service. Even though there is no mandatory requirement to take a PCB transformer out of service, there may be good business reasons to eliminate them for liability management. The emphasis here is on transformers. This also applies to all PCB and PCB containing equipment such as capacitors, breakers, reclosers, voltage regulators, switches, electromagnets and cables. You as an owner of PCB and PCB containing transformers are responsible for knowing the concentration of PCBs in each piece of equipment and it s physical condition. Any indication of release, such as a streak of oil down the side is considered to be leaking and is reportable.

12 There are three classes of transformers: (1) PCB transformers, (2) PCB-containing transformers, and (3) Non-PCB transformers. PCB transformers are equipment containing more than 500 parts per million (ppm) PCBs. If you have transformers at this concentration, each quarter you must physically inspect and document it s location and condition. Annually you must fill out a PCB Form R report and have it documented that these transformers are still in good work condition and that they are In Service on your property. These forms must be completed and retained in your records for a minimum of three years. These forms must be submitted to the EPA on request. Transformers that are between 500 and 50 ppm are called PCB contaminated. These transformers are still regulated but are no longer require a quarterly inspection. These transformers can be put into storage for reuse up to 12 months. All inspections must be conducted. If it is determined that the transformer is to be eliminated, it becomes a waste and you have 30 days to have it shipped to a disposal facility. Transformers under 50 ppm are considered to be non-pcb transformers and do not require any regulations or tracking. However, from a practical aspect, all transformers, if they contain any PCBs whatsoever, can bring your company environmental liability. At Superfund sites, the mere presence of 2 ppm PCBs in the soils requires address and remediation. If you have a transformer that is 40 ppm and it is vandalized or inappropriately disposed where the PCBs are spilled upon the ground, you have potential future environmental liability. For BNSF, our policy is that all PCB-contaminated PCB-containing transformer oils will be thermally destroyed. We send them off for incineration. PCBs are thermally destructed and therefore ends the liability to the company.

13 Proof of Compliance One of the main areas of concern for the rail industry and for all maintenance activities in dealing with environmental issues is the proof of compliance. If you do not have written records that indicate your activities, then the EPA will view this as non-compliance or as the activity did not take place. Various programs such as Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plans, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Oil Pollution Act - all require individual training on an annual basis. If you attend or your employees have to attend these training sessions, make sure that they register in writing their presence and completion of the course. Always document the attendance and the type of instruction conducted. If you are responsible for any environmental inspection, such as aboveground storage tanks, ensure that the individuals are qualified for conducting the inspections and also that they sign their full name, not just their initials, on the appropriate forms. The agency requires that the person who conducts the inspections be readily identifiable in these records. Individual management plans of activities are also required. If you have a written plan on how you manage your material; how you manage aboveground storage tanks; how you manage signal batteries; how you manage used oil; the plans can be presented to the agencies to show that the processes are in place. These plans also helps to eliminate many internal questions on the railroad s approach and approved methods for addressing environmental issues. Be familiar with this information; be familiar with your role as a manager in complying with these issues. You must review these plans on a frequent basis to insure all the names and phone numbers for contacts and responders are correct and that the plans are current to address any contingency.

14 Conclusion It is very important for you to look beyond the fixed facilities of you railroad for environmental issues. There are many other environmental issues that is not covered in this paper, (such as wetlands, endangered species, etc.), that must be considered as you move forward in conducting maintenance and construction projects. This paper was intended to focus on environmental issues away from the shop complex and outside of the yard limits, to increase environmental awareness in the field, help to improve compliance and reduce potential liabilities. Get and stay in touch with your railroad s environmental staff. Have discussions about the various environmental programs affecting right of way operations and maintenance, be familiar with these programs and ask for assistance with environmental compliance. If your railroad does not have an environmental staff, contact an environmental consultant for assistance. The environmental agencies can also be contacted for assistance, Many states and the USEPA have well established programs and information packets that are readily available to you. Together we will protect the future of the rail industry while protecting the environment for ourselves and for future generations.