MONROE, MI (Toledo News Now) - In a special investigation in May, "Danger On The Rails," WTOL 11 warned you about an increase in crude oil shipments coming down railways in northwest Ohio. Michigan State Police, however, refused to release the information at that time.
Our lawyers have been pushing for the release, but the State of Michigan once again has denied our requests. But we've found out the oil is coming through Monroe County and emergency leaders are concerned about it.
In May, we developed maps, showing all of the train routes through northwest Ohio that carry one million or more gallons of Bakken crude oil in a single train. Other maps showed the specific counties and cities that it is traveling through.
Since we were not allowed to see this important information on oil transports in Monroe and Lenawee Counties in Michigan, we asked the director of Monroe County's Emergency Management Agency for the reason.
"We wanted to make sure that the information didn't get into the hands of those people who want to illicit harm to the public. So that's why we as a state decided not to let that information out to the general public and to keep it close to the vest," said Mark Hammond, Director of the Monroe County EMA.
Hammond did confirm that Bakken crude oil is coming through Monroe County and there has been a 200 percent increase in shipments of oil, nationwide. Hammond says Michigan State Police have released the information to emergency leaders, as required by federal law. He says the county's first responders are training for potential derailments.
Hammond is well aware of the oil train disaster in Quebec, Canada in 2013 when 43 people were killed after a derailment.
"Do we have enough firefighting foam? What about rescue and extrication out of something like that? Where do we get that kind of equipment in the county? Or do we have to go to Wayne County or Lucas County to get that equipment? So those are the kinds of questions that get asked," Hammond said.
If there is a derailment, the county's Emergency Operations Center on South Raisinville Road will come alive with a constant flow of information to and from the scene of the incident.
As Hammond walked us through the room, he said, "So it's a big scale disaster, every seat is full. We bring in human services, we bring in the weather, we bring in the Salvation Army and Red Cross. They all have a seat, they all have their plans and procedures."
