(The following appeared at Monata’s News Station website on September 2, 2009.)
KALLISPEL, Mont. — The Burlington Northern Santa Fe railway plans to finish removing contaminated sediment from the upper reach of the Whitefish River will happen by mid-November.
BNSF signed an administrative order with the Environmental Protection Agency to do four projects to clean up the Whitefish River.
Work on the portion of the Whitefish River above Second Street Bridge will start September 25th. And there will also be work on the lower reach of the river, and an interceptor trench investigation.
BNSF will also evaluate any other sources of contamination at the fueling facility that might impact the river.
“We’ve been working collaboratively with the EPA for a period of time now, and we’re anxious to begin the removal activities and start getting to work and removing any sort of impacted materials, and finishing up the project in a manner that doesn’t impact the community but also restores the river,” said Burlington Northern Santa Fe General Director, Allen Stegman.
Any needed sediment removal on the lower reach of the Whitefish River is set to be finished in September 2010.