Railroad News

BNSF Railway Co. yesterday unveiled a new site certification program aimed at identifying optimal rail-served sites for customer development along the Class I's network.

To develop the program, BNSF drafted a list of candidates and conducted in-depth reviews of 10 economic development criteria to determine if the industrial sites meet the railroad's readiness standards. The standards are intended to minimize development risks customers may face, BNSF officials said in a press release.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Justice recently reached an agreement with BNSF Railway Co. over oil spill incidents in three states and the railroad's response plans in Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota, the agencies have announced.

Reached late last month, the agreement resolved alleged violations of the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act at several locations in the four states, according to an EPA press release.

Paradigm Energy Partners LLC announced yesterday that its Paradigm Midstream Services-ND LLC has finalized an agreement with a private company to construct a new gathering system for crude oil in North Dakota.

Under the proposed agreement, which is secured through an acreage dedication, the 23-mile gathering system will deliver 17,000 acres of production from the Ross Field in northern Mountrail County to Paradigm's joint venture rail terminal in Palermo, N.D., according to a company press release.