(The following article by Matt Gouras was circulated by the Associated Press on April 18.)
HELENA, Mont. — Gov. Brian Schweitzer said BNSF Railway is being disingenuous in blaming past administrations for delays in the cleanup at the Livingston rail yard.
Schweitzer said BNSF is trying to blame years of delays on a state government that was run by former Republican governors Marc Racicot and Judy Martz. If the railroad was so unhappy with the way the state was doing its job, Schweitzer said it is odd that it turned around and hired a former Martz staffer and put Racicot on its board of directors.
A railroad spokesman said the implication that the railroad rewarded past administrations with jobs for helping delay cleanup is “absolutely not true.”
“The former staff had no impact toward BNSF’s commitment toward environmental cleanup and remediation,” said BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas.
Just last month, the railroad announced that Barbara Ranf, who held high-level positions under Martz, would be the new lobbyist for BNSF Railway.
“The irony in all this is that they are critics of the previous administrations, and they hired Martz’ chief of staff?” Schweitzer said. “Racicot was so bad he is now on our board of directors? What are they saying?”
Schweitzer mocked BNSF Tuesday for its stance on the cleanup at Livingston, implying the company was purposely taking advantage of administrative loopholes to delay the costly cleanup.
“Was it that we were poorly managed at the state of Montana … or were they happy with what they were getting?” Schweitzer said. “Usually you reward your friends with jobs, not those you view to be incompetent.”
He compared the railroad’s delays to someone who accidentally spilled trash on Main Street in Livingston, then turns around and writes a letter to the state asking what to do about it. Once told they need to clean it, the responsible party then starts nitpicking the details, Schweitzer said.
In March, Schweitzer said the railroad had run out of time. He announced the state would do the work and bill the railroad. Schweitzer said at the time he was fed up with BNSF’s “denying, delaying, obfuscating and lawyering.”
BNSF responded with newspaper ads this month that criticize the administration. The ads said “BNSF Railway Company is surprised at the extremely inaccurate charges and characterizations recently made by the Montana state government” and said the railway wants to “set the record straight.”
The company goes on to site delays it said were the state’s responsibility. Nearly all occurred under the Republican administrations of Martz and Racicot.
Schweitzer, in his announcement that the company would be billed for cleanup work, said there won’t be any more delays in getting the work done now that the state is taking charge.
Livingston, with an aquifer contaminated by railroad diesel, is one of a number of Montana communities with environmental harm from past railroad operations. Schweitzer said Livingston’s problems should be the first remedied because the assessment of conditions there is particularly comprehensive.
The Livingston contamination has gone unresolved for nearly 20 years.
BNSF says it has already spent $12 million on remediation at the Livingston rail yard.
Schweitzer has been critical of BNSF on other issues, saying the railroad overcharges Montana grain growers who send their crops to West Coast ports. He wants to sue the federal Surface Transportation Board for not protecting farmers against unfair rates.