(The Associated Press circulated the following article on March 9.)
SPOKANE, Wash. — Petroleum has been found in the aquifer below a train refueling depot, but more tests are needed before the contamination can be linked to the railroad operation, authorities said.
The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway refueling platform near Rathdrum was found to be leaking Feb. 14, and an earlier leak was shown to have contaminated groundwater in December, albeit at levels too low to endanger human health, said Mark Kalbaugh, site manager for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.
At the state agency’s request, 1st District Judge Charles Hosak ordered a halt to operations at the depot two weeks ago. A hearing on the closure was set for Wednesday but has been postponed to April 5 by mutual consent.
Railroad spokesman Gus Melonas said the depot will remain closed until then with refueling done elsewhere.
The $42 million depot, which opened Sept. 1, lies atop an aquifer that is the sole source of drinking water for 400,000 people from Coeur d’Alene through Spokane, Wash.
The company is continuing to make repairs, focusing on the 35,000-square-foot refueling platform and replacing pipe seals. Officials said they also were considering an overhaul of the fuel containment system.
Kootenai County Planning Director Rand Wichman said the company will reduce the number of pipes passing through a containment liner to reduce potential leakage.
The DEQ said problems also have found in concrete at the unloading platform and a fuel storage area.
The first leak cost the company more than $1 million. No cost estimates have been made for the more recent leak.
Barry Rosenberg, executive director of the Kootenai Environmental Alliance, said the railroad should cut its losses and abandon the refueling operation.
“The basic integrity of that whole depot is in question,” he said.