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Spokane Aquifer in PerilJohn Osborn, M.D. and Rachael Paschal Osborn Pour yourself a glass of water, drink, and celebrate Spokane's most important resource: the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer. You probably take this water for granted. Don't. Your drinking water is in peril. One threat to the aquifer is Texas-based Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Corporation. BNSF is building a train refueling terminal just east of Spokane, near Hauser, Idaho. Flowing beneath the site is the aquifer, sole source of drinking water for you and 400,000 people. The Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer is one of the world's unique aquifers. The greatest floods in the earth's history, the Missoula Floods, formed this aquifer when ice dams broke during the last Glacial Age, filling up valleys with gravel. The aquifer starts in Idaho at the southern end of Lake Pend Oreille, flows into Washington State, and resurfaces northwest of Spokane. The land surface above the aquifer is 321 square miles. Whereas the daily flow rate for most aquifers ranges between a mere quarter-inch and 5 feet, our aquifer races along at 50 feet daily. And the quantity is enormous. Reports estimate that each day, 250 million gallons of fresh water crosses from Idaho to Washington at the state line. Water quality is good. In 1976, recognizing the irreplaceable nature of the aquifer, four citizens groups (Spokane League of Women Voters, Spokane Audubon and Sierra Club, and Kootenai Environmental Alliance) petitioned EPA to designate the aquifer as a "sole source" under the Safe Water
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The following article appeared in THE
WALL STREET JOURNAL, issue of April 24, 2000. By Jim Carlton Staff Reporter of The
Wall Street Journal, April 24, 2000 Environmental groups are taking a new
tack in their battles against corporate America: introducing
shareholder resolutions that in some cases are actually
winning. Last week, a coalition of the groups
won two so-called management-accountability resolutions at
timber concerns Weyerhaeuser Co. and Boise Cascade Corp. and
are contesting a third contest they narrowly lost at
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. On May 18, a similar
resolution from environmentalists is to be considered by
shareholders of Potlatch Corp. at the timber firm's annual
meeting in Little Rock, Ark. The resolutions were all introduced by
groups affiliated with the Railroads and Clearcuts Campaign,
an environmental organization based in Spokane, Wash., that
has been chiefly focused on issues relating to the
companies' activities in the Pacific Northwest.
Although nonbinding on the boards, the
activists said these resolutions give them an opportunity to
press their case for stronger environmental standards
directly to investors. "This is an effort to find the common
interest between Wall Street and environmental
shareholders," said Bart Naylor, a shareholder-rights
activist from Washington, D.C., who assisted the
environmentalists in the campaign. Shareholder activism has long been in
use by organized labor and has begun to be embraced by the
environmental movement. However, most green-sponsored
resolutions have fallen to defeat, as happened a few weeks
ago when BP Amoco PLC shareholders soundly defeated a
Greenpeace initiative that called for the London-based
petroleum giant to cease oil development in the Alaskan
Arctic. In the Northwest, environmentalists
twice introduced resolutions calling for Weyerhaeuser to
have directors elected annually rather than on staggered,
three-year terms. But they had been defeated. At the
company's annual meeting last Tuesday, Janine Blaeloch,
director of the Western Land Exchange Project group in
Seattle, again asked shareholders to adopt the change in
board elections. This time, shareholders in the meeting
at the company's headquarters in Federal Way, Wash., adopted
the resolution by 109 million votes to 79 million dissenting
votes. Management had opposed the measure, partly on grounds
it would disrupt board continuity and stability. Boise
Cascade and Potlatch executives have stated similar grounds
for their opposing similar resolutions. Weyerhaeuser officials declined to
comment except to say their board was taking the resolution
under advisement. On Wednesday, another proxy shareholder
spoke in favor of a resolution asking that Burlington
Northern's board first consult shareholders before adopting
any poison-pill provision making it more difficult for an
acquisition. Management opposed the measure, in part because
it could complicate the railroad company's announced plan to
merge with the Canadian National Railway Co. to form a new
entity called North American Railways Inc. At the shareholders meeting in Fort
Worth, Texas, the proxy, a woman representing an Idaho
water-protection group, also spoke out against the company's
planned fuel depot in the northern part of that state. "She
was using this as a platform," said Richard Russack, a
Burlington Northern spokesman. The environmentalists are
contesting the vote of 192 million to 143 million shares
that defeated their proposal At Boise Cascade, meanwhile,
environmentalists on Thursday also argued for annual
elections of directors. The measure passed by a nearly
two-thirds margin, and officials of the Boise, Idaho, firm
said their board would consider adopting it.
Shareholder Resolutions
Score,
Chalk Up Environmental
Victories
Reprinted by permission of THE
WALL STREET JOURNAL, © 2000 Dow Jones & Company,
Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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A license to spill?Train refueling in Never-Never LandBy Paulette Burgess After years of protest and sputtering expressions of community outrage, construction of Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company's Hauser Yard train refueling depot is now officially underway. Most Spokane residents probably have a pretty good idea of the depot's geographic location: on top of the aquifer. What is less well known, however, is that the 500,000-gallon facility occupies a legal Never-Never Land. As if Dad were merely putting up a tree house in the backyard, BNSF can build this mammoth project, free of any federal or state regulatory oversight, right over the aquifer. Although the Rathdrum Prairie/Spokane Valley Aquifer, which covers 321 square miles and carries a volume of 10 trillion gallons, supposedly enjoys federal protection as the sole drinking water source for the area's 400,000 residents, an Environmental Impact Statement assessing the depot's potential risks was never issued. Why? It wasn't required.
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PATTY
MURRAY |
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COMMITTEES: |
Washington, D.C. 20423-0001
Dear Chairman Morgan: I am writing with regard to
Burlington Northern Santa Fe's (BNSF's) plans to
build a storage and fuel depot near Hauser, Idaho.
BNSF plans to construct the depot on land it owns
over the 325 square mile Spokane Valley-Rathdrum
Prairie Aquifer, the sole drinking water source for
approximately 400,000 people in eastern Washington
and western Idaho. While BNSF is exempt from having
to meet state and local environmental regulations,
it has agreed to meet 33 environmental conditions
set out by the Kootenai County Commissioners,
though the county does not have any authority to
enforce compliance. I have heard from many of my
constituents who are very concerned about BNSF's
plans to construct the fuel depot, and I understand
they have petitioned the Surface Transportation
Board (STB). I look forward to learning how the STB
decides to rule on the petition submitted by the
Friends of the Aquifer. Please feel free to contact
me directly about this issue or to have the
appropriate staff person contact Ms. Anna Knudson
by calling 202-224-2621. Thank you. Patty Murray United States
Senator -- Senator
Patty Murray |
2930 WETMORE AVENUE |
2988 JACKSON FEDERAL
BUILDING |
501 WEST MAIN |
140 FEDERAL BUILDING |
402 E. YAKIMA AVENUE |
Internet: senator_murray@murray.senate.gov worldwide web: http://murray.senate.gov/ |
MARIA
CANTWELL |
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COMMITTEES: |
Dear Chairman
Morgan: I am writing to seek
clarification of your intent to review plans for a
proposed Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF)
storage and fuel depot near Hauser, Idaho. As you
may know, BNSF is poised to break ground for this
project in the coming weeks. The facility would be
constructed on land owned by BNSF located above the
325 square mile Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie
Aquifer, which serves as the sole drinking water
source for approximately 400,000 people in eastern
Washington and western Idaho. I understand that the company
has agreed to address 33 environmental protection
measures raised by the Kootenai County
Commissioners in its April 2000 order of decision.
Those measures included access to the facility to
permit the performance of independent evaluations
of the facility by inspectors hired by the county
during construction, the hiring of a Department of
Environmental Quality inspector (paid for by the
company) with regular access to the facility, and
the issuance of a $5 million environmental
protection bond to cover cleanup costs of potential
contamination of the aquifer. In March 2000, several
Spokane residents filed a federal lawsuit
challenging the Kootenai County decision, arguing
that citizens in Washington state could be harmed
in the event of an accident at the facility. A
federal judge subsequently dismissed that case on
the grounds that the Washington residents did not
have standing in the case and that the Kootenai
County Commission had no regulatory authority to
grant or deny permits for the BNSF facility. Some
citizens in the surrounding communities have
expressed concerns that the lack of state or local
jurisdiction over the facility leaves the facility
virtually unregulated by any government
entity. I understand that a group of
these constituents have petitioned the Surface
Transportation Board (Finance Docket No. 33966) to
determine whether the planned BNSF facility
constitutes an extension of the rail line that
would require review by the Board and further
environmental reviews as required by the National
Environmental Policy Act. I am confident that you
will thoroughly consider the merits of that
petition and would appreciate your assistance in
providing an expeditious review of this
matter. Please feel free to contact
me directly about this issue or contact my staff,
Grey Gardner at 202-224-3441. Thank you for your
consideration. Senator Maria Cantwell
-- Senator
Maria Cantwell |
U.S. FEDERAL COURTHOUSE |
717 HART SENATE OFFICE
BUILDING |
JACKSON FEDERAL BUILDING 915
2ND AVENUE, SUITE 3206SEATTLE, WA 98174 |
Web: http://cantwell.senate.gov PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER |
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Laura Shireman Staff writer The planning and zoning department has
received one letter in favor of the refueling depot plan and
48 against, said Chuck Finan, an associate planner for
Kootenai County. A railroad company's plan to place
more than 2.2 million gallons of petroleum products over the
aquifer met with overwhelming opposition from more than 200
people who turned out to a hearing on the matter Thursday
night. From families with small children to
senior citizens to elected officials from Spokane, people
told Kootenai County hearing examiner John Stamsos to take
no chances of contaminating the aquifer. "What's most
important here tonight is the concept of risk," said Wade
Hathhorne, a consultant hired by the opposition to the plan.
His expertise lies in groundwater issues and he previously
was a professor at Washington State University. Because the aquifer is the sole source
of drinking water, any risk of its contamination is
significant, he said. The hearing was to consider further
testimony on Burlington Northern Santa Fe's application for
a conditional use permit to build at least eight storage
tanks holding diesel fuel, lubricating oil and water mixed
with petroleum products on its land near Hauser. The tanks
would be used to refuel trains. Until Stamsos asked the audience to
hold applause until the end of each speaker's remarks, the
majority of people at the hearing clapped almost every time
a speaker made a statement against the railroad company's
plan. The planning and zoning department has received one
letter in favor of BNSF's plan and 48 against, said Chuck
Finan, an associate planner for Kootenai County. "The track records of this company
have been poor," Hathhorne said. But BNSF representatives
say their plans exceed requirements to protect the aquifer
and say they have only a minute incidence of fuel spills -
lower, even, than in other transportation
industries. The facility has been designed in
accordance with all the pertinent regulations, said Melissa
Papworth, who works with BNSF on environmental engineering
issues. "It's designed to not leak," she said,
pointing out safeguards such as plastic under the tanks to
contain any spills. Furthermore, should it actually spill,
the diesel fuel would not pose a significant problem because
the soil would stop its seepage into the aquifer and because
diesel does not mix with water, Papworth said. There already
are about 90 million gallons of petroleum products from
other industries stored above the Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer,
she added. But Hawthorne contended that the soil
above the aquifer is very porous - which means the fuel
would soak into the region's source of drinking water - and
even a tiny amount of diesel fuel would contaminate
it. The risk of contamination is too
great, said the Spokane County commissioners, the city of
Hayden, the city of Spokane and the Panhandle Health
District in letters their representatives read to the
hearing examiner. The city of Post Falls also urged caution
in making the decision in a letter read by City Councilman
Clay Larkin, who voiced personal concerns with the
project. BNSF has not adequately answered the
city of Hauser's concerns about vehicle traffic, said Scott
Brown, city code administrator. The traffic study the railroad
performed was done in winter and failed to consider
intersections beyond those closest to the proposed tanks, he
said. Railroad representatives said BNSF
would build an underpass for traffic on Greensferry Road
that would allow vehicles to move across that intersection
unhindered. That would alleviate the impact the
refueling station would have on traffic, said Robert
Boileau, who works in engineering for BNSF. More than 35 people signed up to
testify at the hearing, which continued late Thursday. The
hearing examiner can continue the hearing until June 4 for
more testimony, if necessary. Otherwise, he has up to three
weeks to make a recommendation to the county
commissioners. Zaz Hollander Staff writer Siding with their Idaho counterparts,
Spokane health officials have opposed plans for a train
refueling depot near Rathdrum. Spokane Regional Health District
staffers on Thursday opposed Burlington Northern and Santa
Fe Railway's bid to build a fueling station over the Spokane
Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer. A carefully worded position
statement disputes building the controversial facility over
the aquifer "when viable options are available." But the district's board will hold off
on a decision until October, less than a month before the
depot comes up for public hearings in Kootenai County. The
district has no legal authority over the facility, but is
weighing in on aquifer protection based on its mission to
protect public health. Railroad officials say they need to
build the $35 million fueling facility in North Idaho to
stay competitive with rival Union Pacific
Railroad. Joining with North Idaho's Panhandle
Health District, Spokane health staffers say they must first
protect the aquifer that is the sole source of drinking
water for 400,000 people, many of them in Spokane
County. "Our position is, if it doesn't have
to be there it shouldn't be," Mike LaScuola, the district's
hazards adviser, said after the meeting. "The aquifer is our
greatest resource. If it wasn't for the aquifer, this place
wouldn't exist." Spokane County Commissioner Kate
McCaslin, who chairs the health board, sparred with staffers
at Thursday's meeting. McCaslin said she was told that
district staffers were directed to parallel Idaho's opinion
on the depot. The Panhandle Health District voted 4-3 to
oppose building the depot over the aquifer. She expected an independent
investigation, a frustrated McCaslin said, adding that she
doesn't necessarily support the depot. "To me, it taints the process," she
said. "We're trying to be objective about a very, very
emotional issue." Kim Thorburn, the district's health
officer, said LaScuola wasn't instructed to follow Idaho but
both agencies share the same mission. "We are the protectors
of the people's health and the water." Another board member, Spokane City
Council member Roberta Greene, asked what other options the
railroad has. Either BNSF puts the depot at
Rathdrum, where zoning and topography favor the facility, or
it builds two depots outside the Spokane-Sandpoint rail
corridor, said Kevin Barker, Spokane-based community
projects manager for BNSF. "We're disappointed that staff seems
to believe there are viable alternatives," Barker said after
the meeting. "We've looked at a number of other sites. This
is the only one that meets all the criteria." BNSF, and its
predecessor, Burlington Northern, now own six
petroleum-contaminated sites in Spokane, according to the
Washington Department of Ecology's Toxics Cleanup Program.
Sites include Hillyard, North Market Street and
Parkwater. A Parkwater report was attached to the
health district's position paper. By 1992, diesel
contamination oozed 30 feet below the ground at the facility
between Trent and Sprague avenues, according to the
report. Though the pollution isn't a hazard,
it also isn't cleaned up yet, it says. At the Rathdrum facility, the railroad
plans to protect the aquifer from spills with a high-tech
combination of concrete and underground liners. Opponents say the facility won't stay
high-tech for long. "They say it's a state-of-the-art
facility," said Richard Shutts, with depot opposition group
Friends of the Aquifer. "It might not have a problem for
five or 10 years, but as facilities age, there's a higher
potential." Zaz Hollander Staff writer A University of Montana professor says
a refueling depot would not be the economic boon to the
region that is claimed by the Burlington Northern and Santa
Fe Railway. Another study by a Portland engineer
calls the railroad's diesel spill predictions into question.
Both studies, requested by depot opposition group Friends of
the Aquifer, were presented to Kootenai County hearing
examiner Jean DeBarbieris this week. The railroad seeks approval to build a
fuel facility and 500,000-gallon storage area at its Hauser
yard, over the aquifer that supplies more than 400,000
Eastern Washington and North Idaho residents with drinking
water. Officials from BNSF point to many
economic benefits of building the depot at Hauser. Those
benefits are based on an Eastern Washington University
economic report done on behalf of the railroad. But Tom Power, economics department
chairman at UM, says that a fueling depot anywhere in the
region would provide the same benefits. The railroad's
economic study also exaggerates associated jobs and economic
benefits, according to Power's review. Many of the 50 jobs would be transfers
from Seattle and other BNSF facilities, he says, a claim
disputed by railroad officials. Released last June, the EWU
economic analysis states that the Hauser facility would
provide 131 local jobs and $5.2 million annual income over
time. It also estimates a $43.9 million net benefit to
society by relieving congestion at the BNSF's crowded
Seattle tunnel. The railroad will pay EWU $10,000 for
the study, according to David Eagle, a finance professor and
co-author. Eagle concedes that Power is right:
Another site between Spokane and Sandpoint would bring the
same economic benefits to the region. But another site would
come with additional costs to BNSF such as land purchases,
he added. Power said he was asked by Friends of
the Aquifer to look at the railroad's economic impact study.
He said he has no interest in the depot and was not paid for
his work. Another critique requested by the
opposition group disputes the railroad's prediction that any
diesel spill would be no threat to the aquifer. The railroad's spill scenarios show
even a catastrophic diesel spill would not reach the
aquifer, but the state recently questioned that finding. "In
reality, if we have a spill out there the plume could be
greater or less," said DEQ regional remediation manager John
Sutherland. "The chances of it actually coming out exactly
where this prediction says are slim." And Wade Hathhorn, a senior engineer
with Economic & Engineering Services Inc. in Portland,
said it's impossible to guarantee diesel would never reach
the aquifer. Or that it would. "That's the problem with hydrogeology,
there's so much uncertainty," Hathhorn said. "If you don't
put that as part of your caveats up front you're doing a
great disservice. There are no absolutes here." By Thomas Clouse, Staff
writer COEUR d'ALENE--A hearing examiner not
only rejected Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway's
plan for a refueling depot near Hauser, Idaho, but she also
suggested conditions for approval that would be virtually
impossible for the railroad to meet. Jean DeBarbieris'
19-page report was released Monday by Kootenai County
officials. In it, the hearing examiner outlines why she
thinks the proposed refueling depot fails to meet the
county's health, safety and quality-of-life
standards. The depot, which would be over the
Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie aquifer, would store 500,000
gallons of diesel, a supply that would be maintained by
having millions of gallons shipped in by rail in each
year. "What is not in the public interest
... is the location of the facility over the aquifer,"
DeBarbieris wrote in her report. "What is known for certain
is that 400,000 people depend on the aquifer for drinking
and that human life cannot be sustained without
water." By law, DeBarbieris had to include a
list of conditions the railroad would have to meet to get
approval. Those include moving the fuel tank far
off the aquifer, finding an alternate source of drinking
water for 400,000 people and converting the trains to
biodegradable fuel. Railroad officials argued that
DeBarbieris' decision overlooks "unchallenged science" that
drinking water will remain safe. "The hearing examiner's recommendation
reflects a belief that no development should occur over the
aquifer if it can't guarantee that water quality would be
enhanced," said Kelly Duryea, the railroad's Washington
division superintendent. "Such a standard would preclude
almost every human activity in Kootenai County." Hundreds of residents packed three
days of public hearings on the depot in November. Of those
who attended, about 250 were opposed; 118 were in favor and
three were neutral. Clay Larkin, a member of Friends of
the Aquifer, which opposed the depot, praised DeBarbieris'
decision. "It's really a pat on the back and a
tribute to a grass-roots movement that believed in what was
right for everybody," said Larkin, who also sits on the Post
Falls City Council. "It's a great Christmas present, even
though it's late." The Kootenai County commission has the
final say, regardless of DeBarbieris' report. It will meet Jan. 12 at 10 a.m. to
either approve the depot, call for more hearings, or go
along with the recommendation to deny the railroad's
request. That meeting will be open to the
public but commissioners will not allow residents to
comment. "This is a tremendous decision,"
Commissioner Ron Rankin said. "It's one of the biggest
decisions we current commissioners have or ever will make.
And by far, it's the most controversial." Rankin said the commissioners will not
talk about the railroad's request or the hearing examiner
report. "All of us have our opinions on
certain parts of it. We are not discussing it until we have
all the facts before us," Rankin said. "But I want to real
bad." Railroad officials said, in a press
release, that the commissioners should consider the
"uncontroverted science, and approve the
application." Kootenai County planners do not keep a
record of how often the commission goes against the hearing
examiner's recommendation. "I don't think it's that many," Rankin
said. "In the three years I've been here, it's been about 20
percent of the time. I would say the commissioners seldom go
against the hearing examiner." A different hearing examiner last June
denied a previous depot proposal. The railroad then pulled
the project and came back with smaller fuel tanks and more
environmental controls. Robert Krebs, Burlington Northern and
Santa Fe Railway chairman and CEO, gave his assurance in the
release that the railroad would be safe and
responsible. "I pledge that the highest levels of
this company are committed to safe environmental practices
and will not tolerate any action that could imperil the
safety of the region's drinking water," Krebs
said. DeBarbieris wrote at length about
safety in her report, which responded to 24 different goals
in the Kootenai County Comprehensive Plan that are required
to get a conditional use permit. Eliminating human error that could
cause a spill at the proposed site is not possible, she
wrote. "Common sense must dictate that there is a
significant risk of a spill contaminating the
aquifer." In the railroad statement, Bob Potter,
president of Jobs Plus, said the decision sends the wrong
message to companies that want to do business in the
county. "Companies meet all the rules and
regulations, as BNSF does, should be permitted to do
business in Kootenai, Potter said. DeBarbieris weighed the economic gains
the depot would bring, but said the possibility of an
accident "poses a greater threat to the economic prosperity
of the area than it would otherwise benefit from the
facility." One of the county' s
comprehensive plan goals is to protect water
quality. On this goal, DeBarbieris spent the most
time and effort. "There does not seem to exist
a definitive rule as to what constitutes an
acceptable level of risk to public health," she
wrote. "Rather, it is the responsibility of local
decision-makers to determine that level of risk
based on the values of the citizenry. "The 'citizenry' . . . spoke
clearly during the public hearing process. They
said any risk is too great when it concerns the
sole source of drinking water for 400,000
people."
Proposed conditions These are the conditions that Hearing
Examiner Jean DeBarbieris suggested Burlington Northern and
Santa Fe Railway officials need to meet to get approval of a
permit for a train refueling depot. 1. Preparation of a contract between
BNSF and affected counties, including but not limited to
Spokane and Kootenai and including but not limited to the
following items: A. Creation of a Burlington Northern
Environmental Stewardship Area in which specific
responsibilities, liabilities, etc., would be
established; B. Execution of a bond sufficient to
cover the cost of remediation, held by a third
party; C. Agreement to provide an alternate
water source for any and all affected parties in the event
of contamination of the aquifer. 2. Submission of a computation of
statistical probability of accidental release that
incorporates the number of tank cars traveling to and from
the facility and the degree of human error currently on
record. 3. Submission of a Plan for the
facility that moves the fuel tank farm to a location that is
not over the aquifer or the recharge area. 4. Conversion of trains to the use of
a biodegradable fuel. 5. Written approval of the Panhandle
Health District. Zaz Hollander, Staff writer In the face of widespread opposition,
Kootenai County commissioners OK'd permits Monday for a
railroad refueling station above the region's source of
drinking water. In a 2-1 vote, commissioners approved
permits for the 500,000-gallon diesel locomotive refueling
depot Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway wants to
build near Rathdrum, Idaho. Commissioners tacked 33
conditions onto the railroad's permit, including a $5
million cleanup bond in case of a diesel spill. The depot location - over the aquifer
that supplies 400,000 people in the region with their only
source of drinking water - has created a regional
controversy that began in 1997. A hushed, standing-room-only crowd
packed the county hearing room Monday morning as each
commissioner took a turn explaining his position. Commissioners Dick Panabaker and Dick
Compton said they couldn't turn down the railroad's
request. But Commissioner Ron Rankin
passionately opposed it, due to continued pollution at other
Burlington Northern sites and alleged worker safety
problems. "It comes down to credibility," Rankin
said later. "In my opinion, a substantial part of BN's
testimony was not credible." Panabaker and Compton, however, said
they considered only the facts: The railroad owns the land -
380 acres on the Rathdrum Prairie - and the depot complies
with the industrial zoning and the county's comprehensive
plan. "Nothing is 100 percent, we know that," said
Panabaker, the commission chairman. "That's why these
conditions have been put on there." Compton said the county could lose the
right to apply any conditions to depot operations if it
rejected the railroad's application and BNSF turned to the
federal Surface Transportation Board for relief. "If something is going to be imposed
on you, you should at least try to control the game," he
said. But Rankin said the public was being
misled by the railroad's assertions that BNSF's pollution
problems are in the past, at yards such as Mandan, N.D. and
Livingston, Mont. The railroad continues to have trouble
satisfying Washington state regulators at its Pasco yard, he
said. More than 4,000 anti-depot comments
and 5,000 petition signatures flooded into Kootenai County
in the last year. Disappointed opponents, Friends of the
Aquifer, said the decision ignored recommendations against
the depot from two separate hearing examiners, the Panhandle
Health District and the Washington Department of
Ecology. The group is $3,000 in debt and is
trying to raise money for future legal appeals, members
said. "We need 10,000 people to send us a
dollar each, yesterday," said Spokane's Richard
Rush. Railroad officials celebrated Monday's
decision. "This facility sets a new standard for
fuel storage over the aquifer and will fully protect the
area's drinking water," BNSF president Matt Rose said in a
statement. But railroad promises didn't sway many
of the folks eating lunch at Granny's Pantry in Rathdrum on
Monday. Though the homey restaurant in the
heart of town usually has a reputation for pro-railroad
sentiment, few diners voiced support for the
depot. Customers at several tables said the
commission's decision was a slap in the face to obvious
public opposition. "I don't trust them," said a Twin
Lakes man who works for Union Pacific and did not give his
name. "Look at their history." At a nearby table, Twin Lakes
logger Dick Graf voiced similar concerns. "Seems to me they could put that depot
somewhere else where it's not over the aquifer," Graf said.
"There's always room for disaster. It would devastate
Spokane." Post falls resident Robert Hunt and
his lunch companions said they support the
facility. Hunt said he also thought the
controversy and public scrutiny ensured more caution from
the railroad. "I really don't think there's anything
to worry about as long as BN is careful fueling their
trains," he said. Along with the cleanup bond, the BNSF
agreed to meet all conditions imposed by the commissioners,
including: Providing alternate drinking water for
anyone whose water is contaminated by the depot. Funding a full-time Idaho Division of
Environmental Quality staffer to monitor the depot at all
times, including three ground water monitoring wells, one
above the depot and two below. Public tours on an ongoing
basis. More than $1.2 million in highway
improvements, mainly spent on a new underpass at Greensferry
Road. The railroad also has pledged to buy a
new, $200,000 fire engine for the Rathdrum Fire
Department. The Fort Worth, Texas-based railway
first floated the project in the offices of then-Gov. Phil
Batt in 1997. Next, the depot was officially proposed to the
county in 1998, as a nearly 2 million gallon facility. After
a hearing examiner rejected the depot that year, the company
regrouped and hired a public relations firm. Last year, the
railroad returned with plans for a smaller depot with more
environmental protections: two, 250,000-gallon diesel tanks
over a concrete pad and two underground liners. Hearing examiner Jean DeBarbieris
recommended against the depot earlier this year.
Hearing on Fuel Depot Draws
Opposition
About 200 turn out to criticize
railroad facility over aquifer
The Spokesman-Review, May 29,
1998. Copyright 1998, The Spokesman-Review. Used with
permission of The Spokesman-Review.
Spokane health
official oppose depot
Railroad facility should not be
built above aquifer
Spokane Regional Health
Spokane Regional Health The Spokesman-Review, September
17, 1999. Copyright 1999, The Spokesman-Review. Used with
permission of The Spokesman-Review.
Depot foes challenge
BN studies
Professor says railroad
exaggerates economic boon
The Spokesman-Review, November 17,
1999. Copyright 1999, The Spokesman-Review. Used with
permission of The Spokesman-Review.
http://www.FriendsoftheAquifer.org/articles/critical-review.html
Tank cars derailed near BNSF's
proposed fuel depot. One of the world's unique aquifers
flows just below the surface.
Kristy Johnson /
Friends of the Aquifer
Examiner advises
against depot
Report suggests untenable
conditions for railroad
Hearing Examiner
Kootenai County Commisioner
HEARING
EXAMINER
The Spokesman-Review, January 4,
2000. Copyright 2000, The Spokesman-Review. Used with
permission of The Spokesman-Review.
Depot above aquifer
approved
Kootenai county commissioners
attach conditions to rail project
The Spokesman-Review, March 7,
2000. Copyright 2000, The Spokesman-Review. Used with
permission of The Spokesman-Review.
BNSF's Track Record
Angie Gaddy and Zaz
Hollander, Staff writers Staff writer Thomas Clouse
contributed to this report. Lynn Bodine stood at the end
of his asphalt driveway and surveyed the mangled
heap before him. Two westbound trains derailed
and became entangled in a Tuesday morning crash
that left the Rathdrum Prairie strewn with 29 rail
cars and gallons of diesel fuel just yards from
Bodine's yellow farmhouse. "You could actually feel
the house shake a bit," the 59-year-old Hauser
resident said. "My biggest concern is what is in
those cars and what could be going into the ground,
knowing what happened last time." More than a decade ago, Bodine and his
family had to move from his white clapboard farmhouse to a
new home after a tanker truck spilled diesel fuel into the
ground near State Highway 53 and McGuire Road. The chemical gases released from the
spill fogged the family out of their home and forced them to
live a few houses away. On Tuesday, two Burlington Northern
and Santa Fe Railway tankers spilled an estimated 3,000
gallons of crude diesel fuel at the same
intersection. The spill was just a half mile from
where the railroad plans to start building a new diesel
refueling depot this year. Diesel fuel shipments will
increase once the depot is built. Its construction is
opposed by thousands of residents in Kootenai and Spokane
counties. "This is a perfect example of why we
don't want the fuel depot up there," Bodine said. No one was hurt in Tuesday's
spectacular train crash. Roads were closed for several hours
while BNSF and Kootenai County hazardous materials crews
scrambled to make sure the spill didn't warrant an
evacuation. The crash occurred shortly before 9:40
a.m., just west of the McGuire Road rail crossing. The
trains were heading west to Pasco on parallel double
tracks. A train run by Montana Rail Link was
traveling 45 mph on the northern track, said Mark Kotter,
BNSF vice president of operations. A car on that train
derailed just east of the McGuire Road crossing. Once it hit
the crossing, it struck a BNSF train carrying grain, lumber
and diesel fuel on the south track, he said. It's unclear what caused the
car to derail. BNSF and federal transportation
officials are investigating. BNSF officials say the spill
poses no threat to the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum
Prairie Aquifer that supplies 400,000 residents
with drinking water. Kotter said the frozen ground
and thickness of the fuel kept it from seeping into
the aquifer. "It's good for us," Kotter
said. "It's easy for us to clean up." BNSF trains were routed to a
Union Pacific line south of the crash. Officials
said they planned to work late into the night
Tuesday. They expected the line to open today
. Amelia and James Dunphy
watched the wreck unfold in stunned surprise as
their car idled at the McGuire Road
crossing. They were driving to their
home overlooking the Rathdrum Prairie from morning
Mass in Post Falls. A westbound train "going as fast as it
could" passed by, Amelia Dunphy recalled later. Another,
much slower train approached the crossing. Listening to the
car radio as they waited, the Dunphys realized something was
wrong. A cloud of brown dust rose into the air. "The next thing we knew, all this
stuff's flying up in the air. Then we saw cars going up, you
know, like a jackknife," Amelia Dunphy recalled. "I made a
U-turn. My husband said, 'Let's get out of
here.'" The wreck was precisely what aquifer
protection groups had warned about prior to Kootenai County
commissioners' decision to allow the company's
500,000-gallon refueling depot on the Rathdrum
Prairie. "This is exactly what we were
concerned about," said Kristy Johnson, a member of
the Kootenai Environmental Alliance and Friends of
the Aquifer, who was at the scene to document the
wreck. "We weren't fighting their efforts to
contain (the fuel) below the depot. It was the
constant coming and going." When the depot opens in 2003,
at least 6 million gallons of diesel are expected
to travel rail lines to the facility every month.
Opponents of the depot worry that trains could
wreck or spill fuel as they pull in and out of the
depot. BNSF officials said the oil that spilled had
no relation to filling train engines, which is the
purpose of the depot. The gooey crude diesel was
going to a refinery for further processing, Kotter
said. Outvoted 2-1 on the depot
issue in March, Kootenai County Commissioner Ron
Rankin had a note of sarcasm in his voice when he
said, "Now we get to see how fast diesel soaks
in." A water main supplying
drinking water to the East Greenacres Irrigation
District was located only a few yards from the
spill. The line was not hit by fuel and didn't
appear contaminated, officials said. That line sends water from the aquifer
to a holding tank on the hills above Hauser Lake, said Gary
Runkle, chief of field operations. About 1,000 households in Rathdrum and
Post Falls are served by the district, he said. "We won't know (if the households were
affected) until everything is said and done," Runkle
said. Ken Olsen, Staff writer More than half of Burlington Northern
Santa Fe Railroad's refueling depots in Montana have
contaminated ground water and surface water. In some cases, railroad workers simply
over-filled locomotives. In others, tank and pipeline leaks
have sent 100,000 gallons of diesel floating down an old
stream bed. Many of those sites are outdated - built in the
1950s to the 1970s when people paid a lot less attention to
the environment, railroad officials argue. Those sites don't
resemble the state-of-the-art locomotive refueling plant
proposed near Rathdrum. It will have double-walled pipes,
double-walled tanks and extensive concrete containment dikes
to stop any spills from spreading. But people living near the Rathdrum
site disagree. They have pulled together an opposition group
and are circulating petitions to try to derail the
depot. "You have to look at what Montana is
going through," said Sy Thompson, who has spent several
weeks researching the railroad's history. Burlington
Northern's track record demonstrates that "if we have a
problem up here, it will be a catastrophe. ... 300,000
people in Spokane will be drinking diesel water,
too." The Spokane-Rathdrum Prairie aquifer
is the primary source of drinking water for Kootenai and
Spokane counties. "People thought the Titanic was
state-of-the-art," Thompson added. Burlington Northern has
14 active and inactive refueling stations across Montana.
Eight have polluted ground water with diesel, according to
the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. The worst appears to be in Livingston,
where estimates of contamination in the aquifer range from
100,000 to 500,000 gallons of diesel, said Doug Martin of
the Montana DEQ. The culprit is Burlington's Livingston
refueling and locomotive repair shop, which was sold in the
mid-1980s to Montana Rail Link and Livingston Rebuild
Center. Burlington Northern is paying for
cleanup, still under way. "You can never completely clean up an
aquifer," cautions Clare Lemke, a longtime Livingston
resident who tracks the pollution. "The question is how
clean can you get it and what level of damage is left as a
result." Burlington Northern also is pumping
water and diesel out of Missoula's aquifer and will add
additional pumps this summer to try to extract more of the
fuel. That diesel came from the railroad's Missoula
refueling operation. A Missoula monitoring well has 2-feet
of diesel on top of the water. Since diesel accumulates in
wells, that could mean only one one-hundredth of an inch of
diesel spread across the aquifer. But "any (diesel) in that aquifer is
too much," Martin said. Montana Rail Link now operates
Burlington refueling depots in Missoula, and two other
towns. Burlington has agreed to pay the decontamination bill
in all cases. Most of the fuel spills date back more
than a decade and, while they hit ground water, most don't
affect drinking water, Martin said. About 10 years ago, the
railroad started looking at the refueling depots, cleaning
them up and installing better equipment. The company has not been fined because
it has been so cooperative, Martin said. Overall, "the
amount of spills have decreased," he added. "You do have
spills, but they are not a day-to-day
occurrence." Burlington emphasizes the differences
between the old days and newer, cleaner,
more-environmentally friendly facilities. "Yes, we have identified sites in
Montana from many years back where there was spillage into
the ground," said Gus Melonas, Burlington's spokesman.
"These facilities are nothing like the technology available
today. "We have begun cleanup on
these." The company is planning only the best
technology for the Rathdrum plant, Melonas said. That
includes leak alarms, heavy-duty underground liners and
catch spills. The Rathdrum plant would include two
918,000-gallon diesel tanks, with room for a third 918,000
gallon tank. There also would be a large waste oil tank, a
methanol tank and other hazardous material tanks. Even the best technology is not
fail-safe, cautions Martin of Montana DEQ. Compared with
what was built in the '60s, '70s, and '80s "these systems
are great improvements," he said. "They are not 100 percent fail-safe.
You are still going to have leaks - it's inherent to the
industry and the business." That sort of caution, and the
railroad's history, worry Wayne Bailey, a Rathdrum-area
resident and member of the Friends of the Spokane Valley
Rathdrum Aquifer. "Their track record is not good and I want
to be convinced that they are not just telling us they are
getting better but showing us," Bailey said. Blaming problems on old technology,
meanwhile, sounds like the sort of excuse the railroad will
trot out in 10 or 20 years if the Rathdrum depot springs a
leak, he said. Heather Lalley and Ken Olsen, Staff
writers Fifteen years and more than a million
dollars later, diesel fuel still floats under Mandan, the
railway hub of North Dakota. Nobody knows quite how the train fuel
got there. But many in the town of about 15,000 point to
poor fueling practices. Operators simply left pump hoses in
locomotives, letting fuel flow onto the ground. Over several
decades, as much as 2.5 million gallons accumulated under
downtown Mandan. Burlington Northern and Santa Fe
Railway Co. has never admitted fault in the Mandan spill,
but it has agreed to clean it up. "We've acted responsibly,"
company spokesman Gus Melonas said. "The state-of-the art
facility we have introduced for Hauser has absolutely
nothing to do with (Mandan). Fueling practices of yesterday
certainly aren't tolerated in today's modern
environment." Trains continue to gas up in Mandan's
depots. In 1979, BNSF installed pans along the tracks to
collect spilled fuel. But a North Dakota health official
said he continues to see contamination near those collection
pans. David Glatt, of the state's division
of water quality, said he hopes the fuel was there before
the trays were put in, but he's not sure. "A system is only as good as the
operators," Glatt said. Rectifying a spill is nearly
impossible. "They seem to have pretty good
intentions but they're real stumped," Mandan City
Commissioner Dave Ulmer said of BNSF. "They obviously
haven't found any decent recovery method, which is a bit
disconcerting. This spill is so substantial." The massive spill in Mandan was
discovered in 1984, when workers digging the foundation for
the county's new Law Enforcement Center encountered greasy
soil and pools of diesel. Since then, BNSF has installed several
pump-and-treat wells downtown. About 500,000 gallons of
diesel have been recovered. But that much or more remains in a
several-block radius downtown, some of it sitting five or
six feet deep atop Mandan's aquifer. Unlike the situation in
North Idaho or Eastern Washington, Mandan residents rely on
the Missouri River for their drinking water, not the
aquifer. "They got good recovery initially and
then it just tapered off," Glatt said. "It's easy to get the
easy stuff and then it's tougher and tougher to get
out." In May, BNSF brought out the big gun -
a high-powered vacuum truck designed to suction fuel more
efficiently from the wells. The truck overheated, and little
fuel was recovered. So BNSF workers have tinkered with the
vacuum and are trying it again, Melonas said. Meanwhile, two dozen current and
former employees of the Law Enforcement Center are planning
to sue Morton County, BNSF and others, their attorney, Bill
Delmore, said. The employees claim that breathing
diesel fumes in the building has brought on a host of
ailments, including, asthma, fibromyalgia, multiple joint
disease, headaches, and chemical hypersensitivities,
according to one doctor's report. "I was working in a toxic waste dump,"
said Michelle Schulz, who worked as a dispatcher for 2-1/2
years before going on medical leave in May 1998. "It's a
nightmare." Mandan residents say those who depend
on the Spokane-Rathdrum Aquifer should be wary of BNSF's
proposal. "If I was the community of Spokane,
I'd be quite worried, especially if it's your drinking
water," Ulmer said. "I would hold them to some sort of
guarantee." Mandan Police Chief Dennis Rohr, who
has worked in the Law Enforcement Center since it opened and
has suffered no health effects, said he'd also be nervous
about a refueling depot over the sole-source
aquifer. "Diesel was really cheap and they let
it run over," Rohr said. "Nobody paid no big deal.
Burlington Northern didn't have accountability control. If
that's the way Burlington Northern still does business, I'd
be damn concerned, too." Melonas, though, said BNSF practices
have changed dramatically since the 1940s when Mandan's two
fueling depots were built. "Back in the old days, there were no
automatic shutoffs, no collection pans, no recovery plans,"
he said. "Back in the old days, many times fuel could
overflow right out of a tank. Now there's automatic shutoff
valves, training of employees, numerous levels of
protection."
Zaz Hollander, Staff writer The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe
Railway calls pollution at regional railroad yards a thing
of the past. Washington state regulators, however,
say the railroad continues to have trouble handling
contamination. Washington Department of Ecology officials
say inspections in 1999 at BNSF yards in Pasco and at
Spokane's Parkwater site revealed problems in the way the
railroad deals with potentially dangerous waste - and with
public officials. Burlington Northern is seeking
permission from Kootenai County to build a 500,000-gallon
diesel refueling facility near Rathdrum, Idaho, over the
Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie aquifer. Diesel and other pollutants foul
ground water beneath numerous current and former railroad
yards - 10 in Montana alone, state officials there
say. But the railroad steadfastly has
maintained that any pollution problems at its rail yards
originated decades ago before modern environmental
protective measures. In some cases, the railroad inherited
contamination when it purchased the sites, BNSF officials
say. "Certainly in the last 15 years, we
have put a great deal of emphasis into protecting the
environment," said company President Matt Rose, testifying
Wednesday night at a Kootenai County public
hearing. The company promises state-of-the-art
spill containment and other controls at the proposed North
Idaho depot. BNSF officials also have said the
depot won't be like any other facility in the country, so
comparisons with older sites such as Parkwater and Pasco are
irrelevant. State officials, however, said the
railroad's message of new attitudes about pollution doesn't
jibe with what investigators have seen recently. "This 'new
company' stopped our inspectors last March from doing their
inspection," said Tony Grover, the agency's regional manager
in Spokane. "BN has been in this business a long time. They
know they can't do that." Ecology Department staffers were
conducting a routine, two-day inspection at BNSF's Pasco
refueling yard last March when a rail boss stopped them
halfway through. Following a confrontation, the
inspectors were kicked off the site by terminal
superintendent Jim Hommerding, according to Lynn Maser, a
dangerous-waste investigator with DOE. The inspectors got some coffee, called
their supervisor, and were allowed to return after several
hours, Maser said. They found several violations during
the inspection, reports show. It's rare a company turns inspectors
away, Maser said. "We were surprised," he
said. BNSF described the situation as a
misunderstanding. Jennifer Anderson, the company's
Seattle-based environmental manager, said she expected to
meet the DOE group in the morning, but she was gone when
they arrived in the afternoon. Hommerding was not aware of the
inspection and simply wanted to clear it with his
supervisor, Anderson said. "To me, it's not a big issue," she
said. "We always have an open door policy when dealing with
public agencies." Workers at Pasco also buried unknown,
potentially hazardous materials in pits on the property,
according to reports from the Washington Department of
Ecology. BNSF workers told inspectors they buried sand, dry
fertilizer and other material that leaked from passing
trains, according to the Ecology Department. Railroad officials this week said they
were unaware of the pits. "We don't dispose of material on
company property," Anderson said. But Maser said railroad workers showed
him one of the pits, which measured approximately 50 yards
long and 10 yards wide. Ecology officials are still waiting
for the railroad to tell them what the pits contain. Maser
said there's no indication they pose a health threat, but
inspectors wanted to be sure. Also at Pasco, a contractor refueling
refrigerated rail cars spilled unknown amounts of diesel off
a protected containment area, inspectors found. The spills
never were reported, the agency said, instructing the
railroad to begin reporting such incidents. The contractor was fired last month,
railroad officials said Thursday. The truck-to-train fueling used for
refrigerated cars at Pasco would never be used at Hauser,
said BNSF's community projects manager, Kevin
Barker. "The difference is night and day,"
Barker said. "There won't be any refrigerated cars, there
won't be any direct-to-locomotive fueling." At Parkwater, a maintenance and
switching facility, the company recently was told it failed
to comply with several state requirements involving
dangerous waste, including: Failing to give workers access to
communications devices - such as radios - while they handle
hazardous waste. The railroad says its workers have cellular
phones, radio, and a nearby telephone. Insufficient training for handling
dangerous waste. BNSF representatives simply didn't know
where training records were kept during inspection, Barker
said. No contingency plan available in the
case of emergency. Officials say such a plan is
available. Letters describing the Pasco
inspection and a Jan. 24 letter describing the Parkwater
inspection were filed by Ecology officials with the Spokane
City Council. The council voted Monday night to oppose the
depot.The Kootenai County commissioners are expected to
decide whether to approve a conditional use permit for the
depot early next month. Associated Press SKYKOMISH, Wash. Cleanup is set to
begin in Skykomish this month to stop the flow of oil
beneath the town. Recent testing by Burlington Northern
and Santa Fe Railway shows the groundwater and soil are
contaminated with many chemicals, including lead, arsenic,
PCBs and diesel and bunker oil. Almost 160,000 gallons of bunker fuel
and lighter diesel oil have seeped into a 15-foot-deep
aquifer passing under houses, gardens, drain fields and the
Skykomish school. The contamination is moving toward the
Skykomish River. "When the water level gets a lot lower
in the summer, the railroad puts out oil booms to skim the
oil," said Michael Moore, founder of the Skykomish
Environmental Coalition and a Skykomish resident. The river feeds into the Snohomish
River and is home to the Puget Sound chinook salmon and bull
trout. Both species are protected under the Endangered
Species Act. BNSF unveiled a plan at a public
hearing in May to build a 600-foot-long underground wall to
stop the flow before it reaches the river. Construction on the wall is set to
begin later this month, pending Department of Ecology
approval. "We're working as hard as we can to
get contractors lined up," said Bruce Shepherd, manager of
environmental remediation for BNSF. "It's our goal to
complete the project before school starts in the
fall." Great Northern Railroad, which later
merged with Burlington Northern, operated a fueling and
maintenance facility in Skykomish from the late 1890s to
1970. During that time it maintained trains operating
between Wenatchee and Skykomish. The oil seepage was first discovered
in 1912, when black gobs of oil were seen along the
riverbank, Moore said. Shepherd said attempts in the 1960s to
clean the site died, but with better technology and help
from Moore's group, the cleanup can resume. Cleanup will cost millions of dollars,
said Curt Hart, spokesman for the Department of Ecology. He
said BNSF has assumed liability and the cost of the cleanup
and studies. The railroad has installed 50
monitoring wells in the seepage area and has posted
petroleum discharge warning signs on the riverbank. It's
also conducting soil, air and water sampling in the
area. The second phase of the plan, which
should begin 12 months after completion of the wall,
includes installing oil extraction equipment and recovery
wells. Department of Ecology site manager
Louise Bardy said it's important the cleanup is done
right. "It's a delicate balance to make sure
the plans proposed don't create new problems," Bardy
said. By Jonathan D. Salant, Associated
Press WASHINGTON - The number of train
derailments - like the recent Amtrak accident in Iowa that
killed one person and injured 96 others - have increased by
nearly 20 percent over the past four years. Both the Federal Railroad
Administration and the Department of Transportation's
inspector general have found poorly maintained track and
inadequate inspections by the railroads could be partly to
blame. The number of railroad industry
inspectors has been reduced and the federal and state
governments have only 550 people to make sure that the
industry is adequately checking 230,000 miles of
track. FRA's associate administrator for
safety, George Gavalla, said the agency has focused its
efforts on heavily used tracks and rail yards, and all
tracks that carry passengers and hazardous materials. On
those tracks, accidents are down, he said. Many of the
derailments occur in yards when crews assemble train
cars. "We concentrate on where we think the
risk is," Gavalla said. Overall, FRA statistics show that the
number of derailments on all tracks and rail yards rose by
18 percent between 1997 and 2000, from 1,741 to
2,059. "Like any big business, railroads will
try to cut corners," said Steven Moss, a partner in the
California consulting firm of M. Cubed, which studies
transportation safety. "They allow their track and other
stock to depreciate and get run down and don't make their
proper safety investments until they are forced to do
so." The rise in derailments will be
addressed today at a House railroads subcommittee
hearing. "When those kinds of numbers are up,
rail passengers and the general public could be at risk,"
said the subcommittee chairman, Rep. Jack Quinn,
R-N.Y. Railroad industry officials reject any
thought that they are skimping on safety. During the same
four-year period, deaths from train accidents dropped 41
percent, from 17 to 10. "The rail system is extremely safe,"
said Tom White, a spokesman for the Association of American
Railroads, the trade group for the large railroads. "There
aren't any widespread track defects. There certainly is no
indication of any safety problem out there. "Accidents don't do anything good for
us. We have every incentive in the world to operate as
safely as possible." While states inspect highways and
bridges, the railroad industry inspects its own tracks.
Overseeing the railroads' work are just 400 federal and 150
FRA-trained state inspectors. Earlier this month, Amtrak's
California Zephyr, en route from Chicago to Emeryville,
Calif., with 257 passengers and crew aboard, went off the
track in Iowa shortly before midnight. The derailment
occurred in the area where a rail defect had been detected
and patched, according to the National Transportation Safety
Board. In December, more than 20 cars of an
eastbound Norfolk Southern freight left the tracks, snarling
rail traffic and forcing Amtrak to find alternate
transportation for 1,000 passengers traveling between
Chicago and New York. Local officials blamed the accident on
a broken rail. "If the railroads are doing well at
their own inspections, then you don't really need a lot of
inspections by the federal government," Moss said. "But none
of those things seem to be the case right now." Gavalla said deaths and injuries along
heavily used tracks are down since the FRA in 1998 began
focusing on those routes. Between 1998 and 2000, there was
one death and 45 injuries from accidents blamed on track
problems, as compared to four deaths and 116 injuries during
the previous three years. The FRA began auditing one major
railroad, CSX, after a series of derailments. The agency found that the company
reduced the number of inspectors and increased the amount of
track the remaining employees had to cover. The FRA found
that some CSX inspection reports "did not reflect the
conditions" found by the agency's employees. "The vast majority of track defects
detected during the audit could have been detected and
repaired with better track inspection and track maintenance
practices," the FRA audit said. The FRA has come under fire as well.
In January, the Department of Transportation inspector
general, who is examining FRA's safety program, noted
"shortfalls in ... enforcement of identified safety
deficiencies, such as widespread track defects." Acting Federal Railroad Administrator
Mark Lindsey said the safety program was still a work in
progress. "Like all programs of this nature, it continues to
be refined as strengths and weaknesses are identified," he
said.
Two trains derail, spilling diesel on
Rathdrum prairie
Crews work into night cleaning up
29 scattered rail cars, 3,000 gallons of
fuel
Damaged tracks. BNSF's
proposed fuel depot would be located almost exactly
where two trains derailed on February 27, 2001,
spilling crude diesel fuel on the Rathdrum
Prairie.
Kristy
Johnson / Friends of the Aquifer
After the train wreck,
cleaning up. The aquifer flows just below the land
surface, and is highly vulnerable to
contamination.
Kristy
Johnson / Friends of the Aquifer
The Spokesman-Review, February 28,
2001. Copyright 2001, The Spokesman-Review. Used with
permission of The Spokesman-Review.
Depot foes
point to BN track record
8 of 14 Montana stations polluted ground waterThe Spokesman-Review, May 12,
1998. Copyright 1998, The Spokesman-Review. Used with
permission of The Spokesman-Review.
North Dakota waits for spill to be
cleaned up
BNSF actions in other states raise
concern over depot
The Spokesman-Review, July 4,
1999. Copyright 1999, The Spokesman-Review. Used with
permission of The Spokesman-Review.
Whitefish Lake, Montana. A BN
train derailed, dumping diesel into Whitefish Lake.
["Tanker cars foul lake" Missoulian August 1, 1989.]
Smoldering wreckage of BN and
Union Pacific trains that collided near Kelso, Washington,
adjacent to I-5. Railroad employees were killed. 24,000
Gallons of diesel were spilled and ignited, resulting in a
fireball. [The Oregonian, November 12,
1993]
Kurt Wilson photo /
Missoulian
Ecology disputes BN
claim
Agency says problems continue with
handling of contamination
The Spokesman-Review, February 18,
2000. Copyright 2000, The Spokesman-Review. Used with
permission of The Spokesman-Review.
BNSF to begin cleanup
of oil, chemical seepage
Railway company proposes wall to
stop flow to Skykomish River
The Spokesman-Review, July 6,
2001. Copyright 2001, The Spokesman-Review. Used with
permission of The Spokesman-Review
Lack of maintenance,
inspection cited for rise in train derailments
Railroad Administration says
number of inspectors has declined
Administration auditThe Spokesman-Review, March 29,
2001. Copyright 2001, The Spokesman-Review. Used with
permission of The Spokesman-Review.
Priggee's
Cartoon Views
Ken Olsen, Staff writer Burlington Northern & Santa Fe
Railway held two closed-door meetings with public officials
Monday and then swore them to secrecy about what had
transpired. It's at least the fourth time the
railroad has held private meetings with public officials
since proposing a refueling depot near Rathdrum over the
Spokane-Rathdrum Prairie aquifer. That includes a 1997
closed session with then-Gov. Phil Batt and his staff and
later meetings with Kootenai County and state officials. The
private meetings are prompting Post Falls city Councilman
Clay Larkin to ask his city attorney to investigate the
possibility that Monday's sessions violated Idaho's Open
Meetings Law. "Is this their good neighbor policy?"
Larkin asked, referring to a promise the railroad made
repeatedly when it first proposed the refueling depot two
years ago. "I'm being excluded. I cannot assess the risk to
my community." And while Larkin was prohibited from
attending the meeting, other Post Falls-area officials -
Fire Chief Dan Ryan and Highway District Supervisor Herb
Heisel - were among the 10 officials invited. "I can't believe this is happening in
the United States of America," added Larkin, who has worked
with the Friends of Spokane-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, which
opposes the refueling depot. "I'm deflated." Railroad officials insist they had the
right to prohibit Larkin, the public and the press from
listening to Monday's briefing. That two-hour afternoon
session focused on agencies that will regulate the railroad
refueling operation as well as any concerns those agencies
might raise. "This is not a public meeting," said
community projects manager Kevin P. Barker, who was blocking
the front entrance to the railroad's Main Street store-front
office. "We're providing a courtesy briefing
for some elected officials and for some other leaders in the
community, giving them the courtesy to see some of the
information first-hand." Other state and county officials had a
similar closed-door meeting Monday morning, railroad
officials confirmed. The press would get a full briefing at
4 p.m., Barker added prior to the 2 p.m. meeting. But he and
other railroad officials left immediately after the session,
taking some of the materials they showed to public officials
with them. The press conference never took place. Public officials at Monday afternoon's
session also included Scott Wayman, an attorney for Kootenai
County; Ken Lustig of Panhandle Health District; Kootenai
County Senior Planner Rand Wichman; Gary Gaffney and John
Sutherland of the Idaho Division of Environmental Quality;
Rathdrum Fire Chief Wayne Nowacki; Bob Lloyd of the city of
Rathdrum; and John Perfect of the Idaho Department of
Transportation. BNSF's Barker also said that reporters
would have the opportunity to interview public officials who
attended the meeting afterward. But when those officials
left, they said they had been instructed by BNSF not to
answer any questions. "They asked us, as a matter of
courtesy, to let them do their orchestration," said Lustig
of Panhandle Health. "I think we're going to let them do
that." Other officials similarly refused to
discuss what they'd been told. Some BNSF officials say they will hold
a public meeting at 6 p.m. today at the Rathdrum Senior
Center. Ken Olsen Staff writer A premier Northwest public relations
firm will help the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad
address concerns over its proposed locomotive refueling
depot. The railroad said Monday it has hired
the Gallatin Group, whose staff includes former Idaho Gov.
Cecil Andrus and former Kaiser Aluminum government relations
staffer Chris Carlson. Gallatin will "help us better assess
concerns of the community as this group has demonstrated in
the past a good understanding of environmental issues," said
Gus Melonas, railroad spokesman. The railroad applied for
permits from Kootenai County to build the refueling facility
but withdrew its application in June after months of
vigorous public opposition. Burlington Northern says it
plans to reapply for permits to locate its 2 million-gallon
diesel tank farm and refueling plant near Rathdrum, Idaho.
Hiring the Gallatin Group was a savvy move, some of the
people watching the project say. "It shows that Burlington Northern
means business," said Larry Belmont, former director of the
Panhandle Health District, which ran North Idaho's aquifer
protection program. "That's one of the very best public
relations firms around." Belmont, now a Democratic candidate
for the Idaho House of Representatives, opposes the
refueling plant. "The location for those kinds of tanks
is not worth the risk," he said. "The drinking water is more
valuable than Burlington Northern." The Spokane-Rathdrum Prairie aquifer
is the source of drinking water for more than 300,000 people
in Spokane and Coeur d'Alene. The Gallatin Group has been called
upon to deal with contentious environmental issues before.
Most recently the Jacklin Seed Co. hired the Gallatin Group
to help it counter a Washington State University study that
found public health and environmental costs of burning grass
fields far outweigh the economic benefits of farming grass
seed. But opponents of Burlington Northern's
refueling depot say the Gallatin Group can't change the
public's opinion about the project. "Hiring a public relations firm to
bolster Burlington Northern's image isn't going to do the
job," said Cindy Radavich of Friends of the Aquifer.
"Because the issue isn't Burlington Northern, it's the
aquifer. "A public relations firm can't change
their past and can't change what they want to put over the
aquifer." Spokane City Councilwoman Cherie
Rodgers, who has rallied opposition to the project from the
Washington side of the state line, is equally
dismissive. "Not even a miracle would save
(Burlington Northern) or make them look good in this light,"
Rodgers said.
(Article by Charles E.
Russell in the June Hampton's Magazine) The Inland Empire's fight for
just freight rates and a review of the case as it
was brought before the Interstate Commerce
Commission is told by Charles Edward Russell in
Hampton's Magazine for June. Mr. Russell says in
part: Now and then, at rare
intervals, an American community, oppressed in the
manner of the Inland Empire, wearies of the
oppression and ventures upon revolt. The day arrived when the
Inland Empire, the region of which Spokane, Wash.
is the crossroads and supply depot, found that it
had suffered enough; therefore of its wrongs it
made complaint to the Interstate Commerce
Commission. Now, this grand old body has
existed for 23 years, most of the time in a
coma. In former days it roused but seldom,
making at long intervals a noise like one awake, and then
relapsing into sweet repose. One of its seasons of dangerous
activity was when it heard the case of the Inland
Empire. The reason it woke up then was because
the case developed such extraordinary features and was the
occasion of such an amazing revelation, beyond all precedent
in railroad history, that even a government commission under
a law designed to produce atrophy was obliged to give heed
thereto. The cause of the Inland Empire against
the railroads that had so long throttled and despoiled it
was undertaken by the revolting citizens of Spokane. "Before
the Interstate Commerce Commission, the city of Spokane,
Spokane Chamber of Commerce, Spokane Jobbers' association
and the county of Spokane versus the Northern Pacific
Railway company, Great Northern Railway company, the Union
Pacific Railroad company, Oregon Railroad & Navigation
company, Spokane Falls & Northern Railway company." So
the case was termed. The railroads had for years oppressed
the Spokane region by making the freight rate from the east
to Spokane equal to the rate from the east to the Pacific
coast (340 miles farther) plus the rate back from the
Pacific coast to Spokane. This the wearied citizens said was
unjust and unfair. It its final form that has special
interest for us, the case came to a first hearing in June,
1906. Naturally, the defendant railroads combined, and
having at issue the vital question whether they can at all
times in their won domain make such rates as they see fit to
make, they were represented by able, learned, skilful,
adroit, experienced corporation lawyers. You know what that
means. Of the counsel for the revolting serfs
of the Inland Empire, H. M. Stephens, J. M. Geraghty, A. M.
Winston, R. M. Barhart of Spokane and Brooks Adams of
Boston. When the hearings came on the
railroads defended their rates to Spokane on two chief
grounds. First, there was the phantom ship seen
at long intervals off Cape Horn. That is to say, they
pleaded water competition. Sometimes a man could ship
something by water from New York to San Francisco. Therefore
they had a right to gouge what they pleased out of
Spokane. Second, they said that the value and
capitalization of the railroads were such that if rates to
the Spokane region were reduced the railroads would not be
able to earn a just and reasonable profit; such a profit as
the courts had decided a railroad was entitled to
make. The pleas struck squarely into Mr.
Adams' convictions. I suppose it must have seemed to him
basic and vital to the whole vast national transportation
problem. Anyway, he advised that the dear old Cape Horn
hooker be allowed to beat and bang her stormy way and the
issue be joined chiefly on this great point of value and
capitalization. As applied to this particular case the
issue meant whether the railroads could afford to loosen
their grasp on Spokane's throat; but the total question
involved was almost infinitely greater than that. Facts as to the existing rate
discriminations and the effect thereof were amply testified
to. The railroads submitted much testimony
as to value and capital, protesting that on any reduction of
its rates to Spokane it would be unable to earn "a just and
reasonable income" on its value and capital. What was its capital at that
time? According to the company's statement,
$250,120,989.39. And what was the value of the
property? An expert summoned by the railroad put
the value at $415,000,000. On this the annual income, after
the necessary deductions for depreciation, left for profit
no more than a pitiable 3 65-100 per cent. Could the
Commission have the heart to reduce the revenue of an
enterprise that was making only 3 65-100ths per cent? Think
of the widows and orphans! Then terminals, stations, gifts of
public lands, right of way and other possessions were put in
at startling figures, including, if you will believe me, the
right of way and other donations bestowed by the people of
Spokane. That their presents, secured and given with such a
pathetic outburst of public feeling, should now be used as a
club against them must have struck many Spokane citizens
into cynical laughter. Frederick O. Downes, a Boston attorney
for the plaintiff, put his finger directly upon the chief
nerve in the railroad problem. For the first time he
revealed the real nature of the railroad business as
conducted in our broad, happy land. You have always believed that business
to be the carrying of freight and passengers. To the real
purpose of a modern railroad freight and passenger traffic
is but a necessary blind. The real business is to issue,
manipulate and possess railroad securities. Having put its road through to the
Coast, the Great Northern in 1895 (hard-times year) earned a
5 percent dividend on all its stock, paid the "rental" of 6
percent on the original $15,000,000 of watered stock in the
St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba, $540,000 interest on
$10,000,000 of watered stock exchanged for securities taken
over from the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba company,
and had a surplus. Tribute was good in the Inland Empire
that year. It was the year when the people of
Spokane, having waited vainly for the low rates and
consequent prosperity promised by Mr. Hill, were thinking
wearily of the $70,000 and the right of way that they had
bestowed upon him. It was also the year in which the plea
was first made that Mr. Hill could not afford to keep his
promises to the people of Spokane. Suppose we take a look at
that. What was the share of Mr. Hill's
railroad in that annual loot from the Spokane
country? Total, about $800,000: three roads;
share of Mr. Hill's road, $226,000 a year. Good. And what interest did Mr. Hill
and his associates draw that year merely from the various
watermelons they had cut? One million nine hundred and forty
thousand dollars. Deduct the Spokane Loot. Therefore, if they had deducted the
Spokane loot from the watermelon interest, there would still
have remained that year $1,674,000 of watermelon interest.
Mr. Hill's share of this fund was something like $300,000 a
year. With proper economy a man can live on $300,000 a year,
especially if he have other great sources of income. No, you
may say, if you like, that Mr. Hill did not care to keep his
promises to Spokane or had forgotten them; it is rather
difficult to say that he could not afford to keep
them.
Good neighbors don't keep secrets,
says official
The Spokesman-Review, June 29,
1999. Copyright 1999, The Spokesman-Review. Used with
permission of The Spokesman-Review.
Railroad hires PR
firm to address aquifer concerns
But opponents say not even
Gallatin Group can save BN's refueling depot
The Spokesman-Review, July 14,
1998. Copyright 1998, The Spokesman-Review. Used with
permission of The Spokesman-Review.
JAMES J. HILL AND
THE LOOTING OF SPOKANE
Great Northern Railway and Its
Watermelon Patch
-- The Citizens of Spokane and
Their Sturdy Fight for Justice
-- How the Railroads Have Fought to Prevent the Loosening of
Their Grip on Spokane's Throat
Why the I.C.C. Woke Up.
Oppressed Spokane for
Years.
The Phantom Ship.
Dear Old Cape Horn
Hooker.
Capital of Great
Northern.
Stir Spokane to Laughter.
Chief Nerve in Problem.
Great Year for Mr. Hill.
Could Not Keep Promises.
The Spokesman-Review, May 30,
1909. Copyright 1909, The Spokesman-Review. Used with
permission of The Spokesman-Review.
Map of 1864 Northern Pacific Land
Grant
Spokane: Northern Pacific
Railroad's first train over the grade separation tracks
within the city. BNSF is the successor to Northern Pacific.
BNSF's immense power and privilege results from Congress's
1864 land grant that created the Northern Pacific. "To
promote the public interest and welfare" is the "object of
this act" signed by Abraham Lincoln. Map from Railroads
and Clearcuts, 1995.
Teakle Collection.
Courtesy Spokane Public Library
Becky Kramer Staff writer Green investors will show up at
Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway's annual meeting in
Texas today, attempting to influence corporate policy
through a shareholder resolution. The railroad giant angered
environmentalists with its project to build a refueling
depot over the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie aquifer near
Hauser, Idaho. Environmental groups say they want more
accountability from corporate officials and board members.
Their vehicle: a resolution making it harder for BNSF to
enact a "poison pill." "Poison pills" trigger events that
make companies less attractive to hostile takeovers. For
instance, company officials could issue preferred stock,
which would raise the cost of a takeover. But poison pills also insulate
companies from shareholders' influence by protecting the
status quo, said Bart Naylor, a consultant to the
Spokane-based Lands Council. This is the second year the Lands
Council and other environmental groups have tried to pass
the resolution. Last year, BNSF shareholders defeated
it. The resolution, which is advisory
only, asks BNSF to put any "poison pill" provisions before
the vote of the shareholders. The issue doesn't have a direct link
to BNSF's decision to build a refueling depot over the
aquifer, which serves as a drinking water source for 400,000
people in Spokane and Kootenai counties. However, "it speaks
to management's credibility," Naylor said. The Lands Council and other
environmental groups involved in the effort hope to catch
the attention of institutional investors, who own most of
the shares in large companies. "This is an effort to find common
ground between people who champion the environment and
people who live and work on Wall Street," Naylor said. "A
green America and a profitable America don't have to be
separate worlds." BNSF officials maintain that the
design of the fueling depot will protect the aquifer from
fuel spills. The company is urging shareholders to defeat
the resolution. "A requirement that we seek
shareholder approval ... could seriously weaken the board's
negotiating position in a hostile situation and leave it
less able to protect shareholder interests," BNSF said in
its proxy statement. On Tuesday, Weyerhaeuser shareholders
defeated another resolution backed by the Lands Council. The
advisory measure required the timber company's 12-member
board of directors to stand for election every
year. While Naylor said annual elections
would make the board more accountable, Weyerhaeuser
officials said they feared loss of continuity and creation
of a "single issue" board, said Bruce Amundson, company
spokesman in Federal Way, Wash. The measure died on a vote of 91
million shares to 71 million shares. Weyerhaeuser's board considered the
merits of the resolution after it passed by a 60 percent
margin last year, Amundson said. But with the staggered, three-year
terms currently in place, the majority of the board can
already be replaced in two years, Amundson said. From staff reports Shareholders of Burlington Northern
and Santa Fe Railway Co. passed a resolution at the
company's annual meeting Wednesday that was sponsored by
environmentalists. The resolution, which passed by a 60
percent margin, is advisory only. It asks BNSF to seek
shareholder approval before enacting "poison pills." "Poison
pills" trigger events that make companies less attractive to
hostile takeovers. For instance, company officials could
issue preferred stock to raise the cost of an
acquisition. But poison pills also tend to protect
the status quo at companies, by insulating management from
change, environmentalists say. If BNSF's board doesn't act on the
resolution, "they do so at their own peril," said Dr. John
Osborn of the Lands Council. "It raises interesting
questions about the accountability of the system, which is
exactly what we were trying to get at." The Spokane-based Lands Council was
part of a coalition of groups that supported the resolution.
The council hoped to call attention to BNSF's construction
of a refueling depot over the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum
Prairie Aquifer near Hauser. The board, which had urged defeat of
the proposal, did not have an immediate comment. Kristy
Johnson / Friends of the Aquifer This web site is a community resource
for our Aquifer, thanks to Richard Rush. Links to other
aquifer sites are provided, including Spokane County's
educational page at: (2) AQUIFER
ATLAS To get a copy of the Spokane
Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer Atlas, go to: The Atlas is free to the public (paid
for with EPA funding). There is a limited supply. One per
person. Teachers who would like a classroom
set may contact: Reanette Boese,
rboese@spokanecounty.org Water Quality Management Program,
(509)477-7678 Spokane County also has a limited
number of Groundwater CDs. These contain general aquifer
information geared to older grade school and junior high
students, the Aquifer Atlas (PDF), and some local technical
documents (PDF). The groundwater CDs are also available for
free on the 4th floor of the Public Works
Building. Your questions for public agencies
responsible for the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer
can be directed to: In Washington State: Stan Miller,
Spokane County Public Works, 1026 W Broadway, Spokane, WA
99260, 509 477-7259, smiller@spokanecounty.org In Idaho State: Ken Lustig, Panhandle
Health District, 2195 Ironwood Court, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
83814, 208.667-9513, klustig@phd1.state.id.us The watershed lead for the Middle
Spokane-Little Spokane Watershed Planning Unit is Doug
Allen, who can be reached at doua461@ecy.wa.gov Friends of the
Aquifer Idaho Conservation League
(208.345-6933, Box 844 Boise, ID 83701), Chris Meyer,
(cmeyer@parkwoodproperties.com) Kootenai Environmental Alliance
(Box 1598 Coeur d'Alene, ID 83816), Buell Hollister
(kealliance@icehouse.net) League of Women Voters
(509.326-8026, 315 W. Mission, Spokane 99201) Sierra Club (509-456-8802, 10
N. Post St., Suite 447 Spokane, WA 99201), Hal Rowe
(hrkrcg@juno.com) The Lands Council
(509.838-4912, S. 517 Division, Spokane, 99202) Charis
Keller old-growth@home.com,
Jane Cunningham julianjane@icehouse.net Maps of the Northern Pacific railroad
land grant are available through the RR&CC web
site. (by Derrick Jensen, George Draffan,
with John Osborn) is available for $15. Please contact
either the RR&CC Campaign or The Lands
Council. This website has a brief overview of
the Northern Pacific railroad land grant, including
relevancy to contemporary environmental issues is a periodic newsletter with
background information, analysis, and news about the land
grants and related topics. Past issues of RR&CC News
include: includes numerous issues devoted to
the railroad land grants, with hundreds of historical and
current news articles, photos, cartoons, and maps. An
invaluable collection. Bart Naylor's Change Corporate America
For 33 Cents: A Self-Help Guide to Shareholder Activismin
the April 2000 issue of Transitions. http://www.landscouncil.org/transitions/tr0001/ The full Transitions index is
available at: Showing the Spokane water supply purer
than the average of American cities, Frank Rose, city
bacteriologist, has made a report of tests from the city
well made monthly since last October. The tests are simply
counts of the number of bacteria found in a cubic centimeter
of water. The average count shows only seven or
eight germs in that amount of water. The test was made from
water taken from the drinking fountain at Howard street and
Riverside avenue or from water from a faucet in the Rookery
building. Speaking of his tests, Dr. Rose said. "It can be said that there is no city
in the world that has a better water supply than Spokane.
Water which shows 100 germs in a cubic centimeter is
considered comparatively pure and drinkable. I made from
four to eight counts monthly since last October, and the
counts in any one month was 17 bacteria, while the tests
last month showed 15 bacteria in eight tests, less than two
each. "In April, 1908, I made tests of the
river water from which Spokane got its drinking supply at
that time. I took water from the place where the Coeur
d'Alene sewer emptied into it and another sample from a
place about 500 feet below the outlet of the sewer. In both
cases the number of bacteria was so great as to be
practically uncountable. "In contrast to this is the practical
purity of the water since last October. Special care was
taken to make tests for colon bacilli, which show the
presence of sewage, and in no case was there a single
trace." Send your letter to: Ms.
Linda Morgan, Chair; Surface Transportation Board,
1925 K. Str. NW Washington, D.C.
20423-0001
BNSF to face green backlash
Environmentalists to try to increase
accountability
The Spokesman-Review, April 18,
2001. Copyright 2001, The Spokesman-Review. Used with
permission of The Spokesman-Review.
BNSF OKs 'poison
pill' proposal
The Spokesman-Review, April 19,
2001. Copyright 2001, The Spokesman-Review. Used with
permission of The Spokesman-Review.
Diesel tank car, derailed. BNSF's
proposed fuel depot would be located almost exactly where
two trains derailed on February 27, 2001, spilling crude
diesel fuel on the Rathdrum Prairie.
AQUIFER & BNSF
RESOURCES FOR YOU:(1) FRIENDS OF THE
AQUIFER
http://
www.FriendsoftheAquifer.org/
http://www.groundwaterinfo.com/
(3) PUBLIC
AGENCIES
(4) Citizen Groups
(5) RAILROADS &
CLEARCUTS
http://www.landgrant.org/
Railroads & Clearcuts: the
book
http://www.geocities.com/josbornmd/
Railroads & Clearcuts
News
The Lands Council's journal,
Transitions,
http://www.landscouncil.org/transitions/trans.htm
SPOKANE'S WATER PUREST
IN WORLD
Tests Shows Average of Only Seven or
Eight Germs to Centimeter
MONTHLY TESTS ARE MADE
City Bacteriologist Frank Rose
Reports Results - No Colon Bacilli Found
Spokane."Copyright 1909, The
Spokesman-Review. Used with permission of The
Spokesman-Review.
Railroads & Clearcuts
Campaign
P.O. Box 9743
Spokane, WA 99209-9743http://www.landgrant.org/
What you can
do:
(1) Contact your elected
representatives, and insist on vigorous efforts to
protect our drinking water.
(2) Write to the
STB.
(3) Encourage your civic
organizations to get involved in the future of the
region's most important resource: the Spokane
Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer.
Contact the STB. Remind these people that Congress
established the STB to ensure railroads operate
without detriment to public health and safety. Ask
the STB to do its job: do an Environmental Impact
Statement for BNSF's proposed fuel
depot.
BNSF Wreck & Spill
Above Spokane Aquifer 2001Crude diesel fuel flowing
from train wreckage. The aquifer flows just below
the land surface, and is highly vulnerable to
contamination. 400,000 people in Washington and
Idaho depend on this aquifer for their drinking
water.
Kristy
Johnson / Friends of the Aquifer
Contact your elected
officials:
If you live in Washington, write a
quick note thanking Senator Murray and Senator Cantwell for
advocating Spokane's concerns at the Surface Transportation
Board.
Senator Murray: U.S. Senate,
Washington, D.C. 20510-4704, senator_murray@murray.senate.gov
Senator Cantwell: U.S. Senate,
Washington, D.C. 20510-4705, Maria_cantwell@cantwell.senate.gov
Tell Gov. Gary Locke to vigorously
advocate Spokane's interests in protecting our drinking
water and our community's future. The Governor's effort
should include pressing the STB for action. [The
Honorable Gov. Gary Locke, Box 40002 Olympia, WA
98504-0002]