Oil Train Spilled 42,000 Gallons of Crude in Columbia River Gorge Crash

Congressional degatation and Gov. Kate Brown demand Union Pacific halt oil trains in the Gorge.

By Aaron Mesh

Oregon officials say the crash of a Union Pacific oil train in the Columbia River Gorge last week released 42,000 gallons of crude from four rail cars into the soil, the wastewater system and the Columbia River.

State transportation officials announced today that they've recovered 10,000 of those gallons from the wastewater system in the town of Mosier. The other 32,000 gallons of oil seeped into the soil or were vaporized during the fire, officials say.

The first estimates of how much crude was spilled in the crash comes as four members of Oregon's congressional delegation joined Gov. Kate Brown in calling for Union Pacific Railroad to halt the traffic of oil trains through the Columbia River Gorge.

Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici released the joint statement with Brown.

Here's the full statement.

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