Derailment cleanup progresses but no timeline for completion

North Dakota Monitor

July 17, 2024

Foster County Emergency Manager Andrew Kirking didn't offer a timeline for the cleanup of a 29-car train derailment, but said this: "It's going to be my whole summer." 

The cars, some carrying hazardous materials, derailed early on July 5 southeast of Carrington, North Dakota, near the tiny town of Bordulac.

Six of the cars were carrying methanol, which ignited and burned until the last of the hot spots extinguished on July 7. 

Another 12 cars carried anhydrous ammonia, which is hazardous, and 11 cars carried plastic pellets. 

Bill Suess of the North Dakota Division of Environmental Quality said air quality monitors picked up lower levels of ammonia early on July 7 and a shelter-in-place order was issued but lifted a few hours later. 

The cleanup is the responsibility of CPKC, which was formed from the merger of Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern in 2023. 

"They're being good neighbors," Kirking said. "We'll partner with them as we go through a recovery." 

The cars were removed from the immediate area of the tracks, the tracks were repaired and rail traffic resumed on July 8.   

While the cars had been cleared from the tracks, CPKC still had to empty the anhydrous ammonia cars before they could be hauled away.

Kirking said Tuesday that step was nearly complete. 

Suess said finding out how much anhydrous ammonia was recovered will be the only way to know how much was released from the cars.   

Kirking said he was told that each of 12 tanker cars could hold up to 80 tons of anhydrous ammonia - about 960 tons.

Kirking said it's also too early to tell how much contaminated soil there might be that will have to be removed. 

A spokesperson for CKPC said in an email Tuesday that the company does not have a timeline for the cleanup. "CPKC is committed to the full restoration of the scene," the email said. 

In a Tuesday email, Carrington Fire Chief Ken Wangen said "this a marathon," and it would be weeks before all the cars could be moved.  

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the derailment. An agency spokesperson said a preliminary report is usually issued about 30 days after an incident. 

After the train derailed at 3:36 a.m. on July 5, Kirking and Suess said one of the first priorities of the emergency responders was to push up an earthen berm to prevent water being used to put out the fire from contaminating Lake George, about a quarter of a mile away. 

"Obviously, life safety is always going to be number one, but we're also very aware just what these waterways mean, not only to the residents, but obviously to the wildlife as well," Kirking said. 

Kirking has been the emergency manager in Stutsman County since 2021 and just added Foster County to his duties in April. 

"This has certainly been an education for me," Kirking said. 

North Dakota Monitor is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. North Dakota Monitor maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Amy Dalrymple for questions: info@northdakotamonitor.com. Follow North Dakota Monitor on Facebook and X.