Letter: Hidden dangers, obvious hazards at the Grafton & Upton Railroad

The following letter was sent to the town regarding the Grafton & Upton Railroad.

To whom it may concern,

I am writing to you as a citizen of Grafton Massachusetts. I am a citizen of Grafton that is concerned for his family, his home, and my neighbor on a daily basis. I am one of hundreds of citizens in the constant threat of having their family, home, pets, churches and a school vaporized by an industrial accident. I know, how could this happen, it could happen because GURR has suddenly made our neighborhood a Industrial Park. We live in a quiet little residential town in the middle of Massachusetts. On or about 2012, a business, Grafton Upton Railroad (GURR), decided develop plans to install a Liquid Propane Transfer Facility (LPTF). Since the LPTF has come online; it has forever changed the landscape, tranquility, and prosperity of everyone living within a 5 mile radius of this facility. I am one of many living within 1000 feet of this facility.

Now you would think that is crazy, why anyone would allow such a business operate in a residential area. It is due to a law that was created when Abraham Lincoln was president that gives the railroad the right to be exempt from LOCAL and STATE laws. We, as a town, argued this point for three years and ultimately lost because of a law written in 1863; allowing Railroad industries exempt. Please reference Federal Court Case 4:12-cv-40164-TSH, Document 61, Filed 05/1713 and United State Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decision No 14-2067 dtd April 6, 2015.

So let’s discuss this facility for a moment. The GURR LPTF will hold four 80,000 tanks; and eight supply tankers holding 30,000 gallons. That is a total of 560,000 gallons of liquid propane within 250 feet of the first property abutting the facility. The four 80,000 storage tanks are 50+ years old, but have passed all hydrostatic testing. Now in my opinion, I think they should have been retested after they were sandblasted to remove LEAD paint. But, my request fell on deaf ears with the GURR, State and Local Fire Marshal’s. I also asked if and when the tanks would be recertified… the response from the State Fire Marshal only if it was deemed necessary. Since the State Fire Marshal only visits one every 5 years to inspect the operation, maintenance and quality of the facility. I suggested that would be an opportune time to retest. That suggestion was denied, by the State Fire Marshal. So I guess, only when there is an accident, would it deem necessary to retest?

Here is another tidbit of information that I have found, the storage tanks are in the jurisdiction of the local and state fire marshal. That means they can ask for records, operation and any other report on the tanks. But they have no jurisdiction on the railroad supply tankers. That means no one locally can ask for records of operation, safety and inspection of those tanks. They operate and sit on the rails of this town and neighboring town with impunity from local firemen. Because of this impunity, GURR can have 100 tankers up and down its railroad storing another 30,000 LPTF in each, endangering hundreds of more citizens and property in Grafton. On any given fall to spring day in Grafton there can be 10 to 50 tanker cars on the property without the protection of the systems in the LPTF. Many of these tankers are stored within 50 feet of personal property. The same tankers outside of the facility DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE ethyl mercaptan (the chemical that makes natural gas smell like rotten eggs). They could be leaking and no one would know. Only when the tankers are in the LPTF do they need to be injected with the ethyl mercaptan.

My pursuit of information and knowledge on these subjects brought me to Grafton Fire Department and State Fire Marshal. I was looking for clarity on the issue of location and distance from tanks identified in the NFPA 58, Table 3-2.2.2. I made the assertion that because in multiple locations within the FSA, distances are identified, but none of them match, there is potentially a problem with the calculations. Furthermore, why is the standard based on the largest tank, 80,000 gallon tank? My point is, based on

the operations, GURR has the opportunity to park a 30,000 tanks with 50 feet of a personal property; yet because the 80,000 tank may or may not be 250 feet away that is OKAY? This logic makes no sense to me, nor does the safety and insurance company of the person that has a 30,000 gallon tank parked in their back yard. The response was… they have no jurisdiction on the tankers, and the regulation is based on the storage or largest tank, despite 30,000 gallons of liquid propane can destroy property in a quarter mile radius.

So where are the sources of ignition going to come from… just look to the GURR for the first place! The often have one if not more Train engines on or near the facility on all the time. Then there is the commuter and high speed freight trains within 100 feet of the LPTF. Oh that’s right, we are in a residential neighborhood, where people like to BBQ, burn leaves, and have camp fires. We as citizens now have to constantly consider should we do any of those things? Our personal liberties are now affected by this facility.

Now, I want to point out some very specific safety points from the FSA directly. These points are not being implemented or have not been installed at the facility; despite being identified in the FSA. So why is the facility allowed to open and operate is beyond me. It’s their own document.

1. Fire Protection Narrative (Rev 2), from MPE Inc, recommends that both fire hydrants near the facility be upgraded to 8” and moved closer to the property. Only one of the hydrants has been moved and upgrade to the 8” main. It should also be noted that this modification was done at the expense of the Grafton Taxpayer NOT GURR.

2. The same report, recommends the need for 4,000 gpm to support the worst case scenario. 2,000 gpm will come from the hydrants, and the other 2,000 from local fire trucks. My review of this statement with the Grafton Town Water District, said that the town could not support this need. I presented the MPE report to the Grafton Town Water District, and it was reported then that it was the first time seeing the report. That meeting was the fall of 2017. The general manager reported the assumptions in the report are grossly exaggerated and the pressure would cause significant damage.

3. The same report suggests that the need for 2,000 gpm for 24 hours or equating 2.88 million gallons. Again, from the same report, the town reports a normal storage of 1.3 million gallon capacity. If my math is correct, every toilet in town will be dry inside of 10 hours. It is also my understanding when testing was conduct during the summer of 2017, multiple breaks and leaks to the Grafton Town Water system were found, the root cause the GURR LPTF. Who paid for the repairs, Grafton Taxpayer!

4. Throughout the FSA document, it is proud of the design and implementation of water cannons that will be used to suppress a fire and keep the tanks cool. Here is the design flaw, the cannon are above ground. All the piping to the cannons are above ground. They will be drained during the winter months. According to the Grafton Water inspector during the test and evaluation of the system, it reports it could take upwards of 15 minutes to come online when drained. This facility is expected to be operating 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The greatest need for LP is the winter. The cannons will be drained in the greatest opportunity of failure. And I believe it is easily understood that 15 minutes is a long time when 30,000, or 80,000, or 560,000 gallons of liquid propane is on fire.

5. The FSA reports that this facility will be secured with a fence and security cameras. Furthermore only by swipe access will a person be allowed to enter the facility. So it is understood that we are talking about 560,000 gallons of liquid propane with the explosive power of 1.2 million pounds of TNT, and it is protected by a 7 foot fence. There is talk around town, but I have not found a single bit of information saying that Homeland Security has reviewed and approved this “soft target” and its security. All of my attempts to get spot checks of the employees have been rebuffed. I think since they can destroy my house in a moment’s notice, that I have a right to know the Petroleum Transfer person is legit, and has ALL of the safety and operational skills to do the job on a moment’s notice. Not every five years, but any day of the week, any night.

Obviously, I would prefer the facility never to be allowed to operate. I believe the evidence that I have presented within this letter is more than enough to suggest that this business and facility is in the wrong location. I know it is a need business model, but the facility’s location is ALL wrong. But having said that, and clearly my representatives cannot pass legislation undoing Abraham Lincoln’s laws, so we need to work together. I think the following examples would be a happy medium between the GURR and the residents.

1. Grafton Fire Department becomes a full time fire department. GURR pay Grafton $1M/year until it stop using the facility.

2. A standpipe be installed on the GURR facility/site to store 2.8 Million Gallons and maintain the 4,000 gal/min water pressure that the FSA states it requires. This cost will be assumed by GURR.

3. Installation of a new hydrant or extension of existing hydrant, feed will be 8” as requested in the FSA. Again, the cost of this upgrade will be assumed by GURR, and implemented by Grafton DPW/Grafton Water District.

4. Inspection of the four 50+ year old 80,000 gal tanks every 5 years, including hydrostatic testing by outside (non-railroad) inspectors, and all records are made public.

5. Inspection and public record of every 30,000 LPTF rail car in and out of the GURR LPTF that is currently in the town proper. No car shall be permitted to be stored on the GURR rails without proper inspection and jurisdiction allowed by the Grafton Fire Chief at any time. These records should be made public.

6. All GURR workers are subject to inspection and review of safety and LPTF operation permits and certifications at any time. These records should be made public.

7. Fence shall be installed that is greater than 20’, cost assumed by GURR

8. Privacy walls, 12 feet in height at least, shall be installed along the GURR leading away from the LPTF, dampening the sound coming from the railroad, and provide a visual block from the GURR cars and operations. These costs too shall be assumed by GURR.

9. New and up to date railroad crossing signal be installed at every site the railroad enters or crosses a Grafton Street. This cost too shall be assumed by GURR.

10. Regulations that shut the facility down for 1 year for every violation or leak detection identified.

11. Evacuation alarm installed on the facility, controlled by the Town Of Grafton, which alerts the residents of the need to evacuate. The alert shall be loud enough to alert residents in a 5 mile radius. The alert shall be distinctively different than the Fire House Call now in operation. This cost will be assumed by GURR

12. Inspection of the ground water systems in North Grafton, for containments produced by the LPTF and the GURR operations. This should be executed every 6 months and presented to the residents of Grafton.

There has only been one time when I have had to call the Grafton Fire Department for the smell of propane. The response was fair, I was shocked that they came to my house first, instead of going directly to the facility. But, the local department did a good job. The report was a spill happened during the execution of a transfer, somehow low enough to set off the alarms, but liquid propane evaporated. The odor was strong enough to get 5 or more houses on my street to react.

I hope this exercise, exposes the flaws and risks that this facility poses to the town and residents around it. That the town select persons, local governments, state, and federal representative rethink their support and decision to have a facility like this in a residential area. That without constant and vigilant oversight, the only thing protecting us is LUCK.

Thank you for your support in this matter

Jeff Turgeon