Ethanol is a liquid alcohol made of oxygen, hydrogen and carbon and is obtained from the fermentation of sugar or converted starch contained in grains and other agricultural or agri-forest feedstocks. It is also called ethyl alcohol or drinking alcohol.

Ethanol burns cleanly and has a long history of being used as fuel. Fuel ethanol has been distilled and dehydrated to create a high-octane, water-free alcohol. Ethanol is blended with gasoline to produce a fuel which has environmental advantages when compared with gasoline, and can be used in gasoline-powered vehicles manufactured since the 1980's. Most gasoline-powered vehicles can run on a blend consisting of gasoline and up to 10 percent ethanol.

Transloading is defined as transferring bulk shipments from the vehicle/container in one mode of transportation (railcars) to another mode (tanker trucks) at a terminal interchange point. Ethanol cannot travel in pipelines along with gasoline, because it picks up excess water and impurities. As a result, it must be transported by trucks, trains or barges.

Norfolk Southern ships liquid ethanol via rail car to the transloading facility, where the material is off-loaded by the railroad's contractor into tanker trucks for final delivery to gasoline tank farms in Springfield and in Fairfax City. A perimeter fence surrounds the transloading facility and, according to Norfolk Southern, the active transloading track has the capacity to handle a maximum of 20 railroad tank cars. A contractor oversees the transfer of ethanol directly from the railcars into tanker trucks.

The City of Alexandria is opposed to the transloading operations that are currently underway immediately adjacent to homes, schools, businesses, and major highways in a suburban community. The federal Surface Transportation Board recently issued a decision that supercedes the City's authority to require the Norfolk Southern Ethanol Transloading Facility to submit to local zoning laws that could regulate or prohibit the railroad transloading operations.

Norfolk Southern is operating a bulk ethanol transloading terminal in close proximity to the homes of thousands of City residents; a public elementary school; the Metrorail Blue Line; the Captial Beltway; and a main interstate highway serving the East Coast. If any accident or fire emergency were to occur at the site, it could threaten the safety of our residents, some of who live, work, and go to school immediately adjacent to the transloading operations.

Norfolk Southern has prepared for potential spills of ethanol by creating primary and secondary containment areas, installing a grounded, bonded, and monitored product transfer system, and adding several fire hydrants and eye wash stations. They have also installed additional fencing around the transloading area.

The City has undertaken a number of actions to address the risks posed by the transloading operations, to inform the public about the operations and risks, and to cease ethanol transloading operations in the City.

• The City launched this Web page as a way to inform the community about the actions and decisions made by the City regarding this facility; provide information about the risks presented by the facility; and to keep the public informed of the City’s efforts to close it down.
• At the request of the Fire Department, Norfolk Southern has purchased a quantity of a special foam needed for a ethanol fire incident (because water cannot be used on ethanol fires, such fires require a special type of firefighting foam that is more expensive than conventional foam). Norfolk Southern also provided the City with the specialized equipment and supplies needed to fight a fire effectively at their facility.
• From June 11-13, Alexandria firefighters participated in training sessions at the Norfolk Southern Ethanol Transloading Facility on the mitigation of ethanol fires. The Fire Department invited leaders of the Cameron Station Civic Association and the Summers Grove Civic Association to visit the facility on June 13 to observe the firefighter training. The visitors observed the training and received a demonstration of how the ethanol firefighting foam works. Norfolk Southern also provided the visitors with a tour of the facility and an opportunity to observe an actual transloading operation.
• The Fire Department has offered Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program information and training to both civic associations. The CERT program trains community members to be better prepared to respond to emergencies in Alexandria. For more information on the CERT program, visit alexandriava.gov/fire.
• An Ethanol Transloading Facility Monitoring Group is being established to communicate with the public about the City’s progress toward restricting Norfolk Southern’s actions.
• The City issued a haul permit to Norfolk Southern that restricts trucks transporting ethanol from the facility to 20 per day, Monday through Friday, with none leaving the facility earlier than 7 a.m. or later than 7 p.m.
• The Mayor is meeting with the Northern Virginia Congressional Delegation in an effort to determine if the City can obtain any assistance in dealing with this issue. The City is seeking a Declaratory Order from the appropriate federal agency, the Surface Transportation Board, to establish the City’s authority over use. In the interim, the City has requested that Norfolk Southern cease operations immediately.

The Alexandria Police and Fire Departments have communicated the results of their Homeland Security Threat Assessment to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management and the National Capital Region Homeland Security Coordinator. A copy of the assessment is also being transmitted to Norfolk Southern.

Visit the City's Emergency Preparedness page for all the details about how you and your family can develop a plan for dealing with an emergency of any kind.

For more information, you can contact Norfolk Southern Corporation at 757.823.5358. To correspond with City staff regarding this matter, residents can e-mail questions or comments to transloading@alexandriava.gov.