UPPER RIVER VALLEY — It’s been a year since 38 train cars spilled toxins into the land and groundwater at East Palestine, Ohio. 

It’s been six years since a derailment at Deposit spilled 4,000 gallons of diesel oil into the Upper Delaware River. 

Then, on Saturday, a derailment spilled fuel oil and plastic pellets into the Lehigh River in Pennsylvania. 

All of these derailments involve Norfolk Southern trains. And all serve as a reminder that railroad safety has stalled while railroads steam ahead. First responders don’t know what trains are carrying through their towns. A ProPublica report found that railroads were making their freight trains longer—up to three miles long—while staffing them with fewer employees.

The Railroad Safety Act introduced into both houses of Congress immediately after the East Palestine disaster has stalled. It would require rail carriers to provide emergency responders with advanced notice when hazardous materials will be coming through their area, have response plans in place to handle emergencies related to hazardous materials, and expand training for first responders, among other safety measures.

Right now, the vastly outdated  1997 Emergency Response Guide for the Upper Delaware River from Port Jervis to Deposit, NY is the only such document in place, and six years have passed since the Deposit spill prompted work on an update. 

The 1997 Emergency Response Guide for the Upper Delaware

The River Reporter asked Keith Winslow, chief ranger of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, about plans to protect the Upper Delaware.

The federal government approved the Upper Delaware Council’s (UDC) $125,000 grant request to update its 1997 emergency response guide. How will it be used?

In 2020, the National Park Service (NPS) received funding to initiate development of a non-tidal Delaware River spill contingency response plan. The UDC did not receive federal funds specific to this planning effort. As covered in the 02/23/23 River Reporter article ("Concerns about railroad derailments"), the 1997 Emergency Response Guide for the Upper Delaware River Valley was commissioned by the UDC and created by Conrail and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network. NPS will incorporate updated information from the guide into the contingency plan and would support efforts of other organizations who want to update the existing guide.

Does the NPS feel a sense of urgency in getting this 27-year-old plan updated?

Based on all of the accomplishments thus far in the planning process, the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River is confident that if an incident were to occur, strong relationships already exist and are growing which will allow for a timely, coordinated response in the case of an incident.

Please describe, in as much detail as you can provide, what has been accomplished on the update.

The Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River is developing the Delaware River Inland Spill Preparedness Contingency Plan, which will result in a spill coordination framework for the non-tidal portion of the Delaware River. The Delaware River’s non-tidal mainstem stretches 214 miles from Hancock, NY, to Trenton, NJ. Nearly all of it is protected under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. A spill coordination framework will benefit New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, including a half-mile river corridor along the Delaware’s banks.

The Delaware River is broken into three sections: the Upper, Middle, and Lower Delaware. The goal is to have one working plan for the entire Delaware River not just for the Upper. The 2018 incident in Deposit served as the catalyst for staff from Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River to take the lead on the planning effort.

In the event of an inland spill, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would be the lead agency overseeing the incident. NPS would support the EPA’s efforts. State, county, and local level agencies would also be involved in the response given their authority and jurisdiction. The Contingency Plan will focus on building connections across all these players.

To date, the team has held virtual meetings, in-person meetings, tabletop exercises, and mock response events to test capacities and coordination. The focus has been on identifying all responding agencies and bringing them to the table for planning and discussions.

One of the overarching goals is to establish well-thought-out Geographic Response Plans (GRPs) and then execute the plan. GRPs are site-specific strategies for the initial response to a spill of oil, oil products, or other hazardous materials on water. GRPs provide guidelines for responders, which significantly reduces the time needed to make decisions during the initial response. A GRP provides the responders with essential information about the site, the equipment needed to carry out an effective response, access details, and other information. The goal of a GRP is to ensure that the response to a spill is fast and effective and that sensitive resources are protected.

GRPs have been developed and were used at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in a mock response exercise in fall 2023.

What is yet to be done? When will the plan be completed?

A finished product is reliant on continued thoughtful and deliberate planning with partners to make connections and create the GRPs. Planning is currently focused on the Upper Delaware portion of the river. This planning will include bringing local, state, and federal agencies to the table for the coordination and testing of capabilities before executing the plan in the event of an incident. The timeline depends on the finalization of the GRPs. 

What obstacles are in the way of getting the update done this year?

For all responding agencies, active and ongoing incidents take priority over planning efforts. Coordinating all involved agencies for recurring meetings and setting dates for test runs is complex, notwithstanding unexpected incidents.

Is lack of action on the Railway Safety Act interfering with the NPS’s ability to update the plan?

NPS has no comment on this act in Congress.