Camp Ripley Seeks $3.1 Million to Train for Oil, Pipeline Disasters

LITTLE FALLS (AP) - Base officials at Camp Ripley are seeking funding from Minnesota legislators to build a regional facility to help emergency workers prepare for oil train derailment and pipeline disasters.

Camp Ripley officials say the 53,000-acre camp is the perfect place to train for such disasters because of its central location, ample space and state-of the-art training facilities. It also houses numerous agencies for training, including the State Patrol, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the FBI.

Maj. Joseph Sanganoo says an oil train derailment could be catastrophic because seven trains carrying 23 million gallons of Bakken crude oil cross through Minnesota every day.

The state Department of Public Safety is asking for $3.1 million to build the new training facility at the military camp in Little Falls.