Mosier Asks for No More Oil Trains Until Accident Cleared

It's just two days since 16-cars of a 96-car oil train derailed outside of Mosier, sending more than 100 people from their homes and causing chaos for those who remain.

And those people think it's way too early to restart oil train traffic by their town.

The derailment Friday badly damaged the town's ability to get water. People were told not to drink tap water unless they boil it. They were not to do anything that could send water down the drain - in other words, no flushing toilets, no taking showers.

Finally at 10 p.m. Sunday, the evacuation order was lifted, people told they could flush and shower.

The boil water order, though, remains in effect.

On Sunday, the city council asked train operator Union Pacific to make sure oil is removed and an investigation is completed before the trains are allowed to restart.

Officials say to do otherwise is to gamble with the town's safety.

The derailment - which resulted in four cars burning for hours, sending plumes of smoke in to the air that could be seen for miles - damaged the water treatment plant and forced the school year to end early.

Some 10,000 gallons of oil that was being transported from New Town, North Dakota to Tacoma, Washington spilled into manholes and then leaked into the sewage treatment plant.

Officials are still testing to determine if the water being pumped to homes has been contaminated. They hope to have results Monday afternoon.

There is no timeline yet for getting the treatment plant reopened.

Photos: Columbia Riverkeeper