In regards to the article "State denies permit for Baltimore crude oil terminal" (June 3) on the Maryland Department of Environment's denial of Targa Resources' application to permit crude oil shipments through its Port of Baltimore terminal in Fairfield, you failed to address the underlying urgency of the matter.
In the article you included a brief background on crude oil trains moving through populated areas such as Lac-Megantic, Quebec where a derailment and explosion killed 47 people, leveled 30 buildings and forced a 2,000 person evacuation.
Had this train exploded in downtown Baltimore, an area with population 100 times larger than Lac-Megantic, the destruction would be even more catastrophic.
You also failed to mention that route information for these trains through the city is being deliberately withheld from the public by railroad companies, even though federal rules require disclosure. There is no reason for this except for the fact that these companies don't want the public to know how much danger they are put in every single day.
This is an emergency. I urge everyone reading to write to the City Council, which needs to immediately stop all crude oil shipments out of Baltimore until the public and the city has a full understanding of the operations and the dangers they pose.
Robin Rice, Takoma Park