Rail depot has new leak
Another fuel leak has been detected at the Hauser, Idaho, railroad refueling depot operated by Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Co.
The company has shut down one of its three high-speed locomotive refueling stations, and Kootenai County commissioners now say they want the entire facility closed until further notice.
On Monday, during a company inspection of a leak-detection system, petroleum was found to have leaked, according to a statement issued by the railroad Tuesday night about 9 p.m. – more than 24 hours after the problem was first noticed. The railroad described the leak as a “slight sheen of petroleum” that was found within the depot’s containment area. Two layers of high-density plastic are buried below the refueling platform, which pumps more than 200,000 gallons of diesel on any given day.
“There is no evidence that the environment has been impacted,” according to a statement from railroad spokesman Gus Melonas.
The leak is the second incident reported at the depot since the facility opened in September. The previous leak, detected Dec. 10, spilled unknown thousands of gallons of fuel-tainted wastewater directly into the ground over a period of three months. Traces of diesel have since been found in the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer 160 feet beneath the depot. The aquifer supplies water to most residents in Spokane and Kootenai counties.
Kootenai County leaders expressed concern and anger over the December spill, but had so far refrained from calling on the railroad to cease fueling operations at the site. Monday’s incident has prompted a change in that position.
“We are requesting them to shut the depot down,” Commission Chairman Gus Johnson said Tuesday night.
The spill was reported Monday afternoon to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, Melonas said. Although agency officials briefed county commissioners about the incident Tuesday afternoon, DEQ did not issue any statements to the press or public about the new leak.
The depot is located about five miles north of Post Falls, where Mayor Clay Larkin was unaware of the leak until he was called by a reporter late Tuesday.
“I haven’t heard a word yet,” Larkin said.
The Idaho DEQ is currently in negotiations with BNSF over how to fix the first fuel leak.
Soil and groundwater samples show most of the petroleum-related chemicals at a depth of 40 to 120 feet below the surface, but traces were also found at the water table.
The tainted groundwater sample was below the state’s danger threshold for human health, according to samples taken shortly after the spill was detected.
The initial spill was caused by a broken drain pipe. In response, railroad officials say, the wastewater from the refueling platform – the railroad compares it to water running off pavement at a gas station – is being collected regularly by vacuum truck for transport off-site.
About 25 trains per day are filled with diesel, antifreeze and lubricants at the $42 million facility.