Bumper Harvests

 

 

"Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea..."

 

Ballad of Jed Clampett

Beverly Hillbillies

This year, our heartland will will have two bumper harvests. Two products that are sorely needed, and thankfully, are now in great supply. Yes, I am talking about our corn harvest for one. The other? Believe it or not, our oil harvest, which continues to come down from the Bakken Oil Fields.

Living close to the Burlington Northern tracks, we have seen trains pulling oil cars get longer and longer. Some are 100 cars long. What is not to love with all this new found energy? A couple of things really. First off, shipping by rail involves some risk. Crude oil is volatile - not as much as gasoline, but still volatile. These trains roll through countryside as well as communities. Some think they are an accident waiting to happen. However, with new pipelines being held up by environmental groups as well as the Federal Government, rail is the only option.

Second, these oil cars are causing a traffic jam on the rails. The farmers are becoming very concerned about it. Last year was a very good year for corn. This year is expected to be the same. Farmers and grain dealers are furiously trying to get last year's supply shipped out to make room for this year's bumper crop. Corn does not have the option of shipping by pipeline - it is rail or nothing.

The tracks really take a pounding from all this traffic. We have noticed this summer the crews have been out reinforcing tracks to ensure they are safe enough for all train traffic. The Northstar commuter train also uses those tracks. A mishap or derailment between Elk River and the Twin Cities by any train would be a disaster.

A simple answer to this problem would be to build more pipelines. They are safer than rail, but still have some safety problems. So we need to build them to the highest standards possible. Authorize the XL Keystone. We have been screwing around with this thing for years now. This extraordinary delay is really unforgivable.

Bumper harvests. This should be a time of joy instead of problems. The Bakken Oil Field keeps growing and putting out more product. The traffic jam on the rails will only get worse unless we act. No more dithering Mr. President - take some action now!