(The Associated Press circulated the following article on April 7.)
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — A public hearing on Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co.’s contamination of the region’s aquifer drew plenty of participants, but neither representatives from the railroad nor elected officials showed up.
“If they are good corporate citizens, why aren’t they here tonight?” Coeur d’Alene resident Jack Clay.
Wednesday night’s gathering was the first large public hearing since leaks were discovered in December at BNSF’s refueling depot near Rathdrum. The meeting offered no prospects for regulatory changes, but student organizers at North Idaho College said they hoped the venue would give the public a chance to vent.
Kootenai County commissioners were invited, but all said they had previous engagements. Railroad spokesman Gus Melonas said BNSF officials saw no benefit in attending an emotional meeting that was not based on science.
“However, this certainly doesn’t discount our full attention on this matter as we continue to invest in the necessary resources to ensure environmental protection,” Melonas said.
The $42 million refueling station opened Sept. 1, and officials have found at least four fuel leaks since. The station sits atop an underground aquifer that is the sole source of drinking water for 400,000 people in northern Idaho and Spokane, Wash. The facility has been closed for repairs since February.
Most of those at the hearing vowed to fight to have the depot removed.
“The only safe depot here for me is one that’s not on that aquifer,” said Post Falls Mayor Clay Larkin.
The aquifer is so vast and deep that any contaminants could take hundreds of years to be flushed away, said Kootenai County Sheriff Rocky Watson.
“Is it worth the risk?” Watson said. “I don’t want my drinking water to taste like diesel, even if it’s not enough to hurt my health.”
Traces of petroleum have been found in the groundwater, but state officials say the contamination does not pose a health threat.
Spokane City Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers encouraged attendees to keep fighting.
“It’s going to take public pressure for them to have to move that facility,” Rodgers said. “The next world wars are not going to be about philosophy. It’s going to about resources. It’s going to be about water. We deeply need to protect what we have here.”
A court hearing on the future of the depot was scheduled for Friday, but the railroad asked for an extension until April 28 to allow for more definitive tests, Melonas said.