(The Associated Press circulated the following article on March 28.)
HAUSER, Idaho — Soil samples indicate there is petroleum contamination outside the layers of containment of a leaky refueling depot outside of Hauser, the Idaho state Department of Environmental Quality said.
The contamination was found where leak-detection pipes penetrated the underground liners meant to protect the Rathdrum Prairie aquifer from contamination from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railway station.
The station sits atop the source of drinking water for 400,000 people in northern Idaho and Washington state.
In tests conducted after the depot was shut down last month by court order, most of the liner seals around the detection pipes failed.
Marc Kalbaugh, site remediation manager for the environmental department, said more samples are being tested as BNSF continues to repair the depot.
BNSF is eliminating 81 places where pipes penetrated underground liners in three main areas of the depot, Kalbaugh said Friday. The liners will still be penetrated in about 20 places, but the boot seals will be replaced.
Burlington Northern spokesman Gus Melonas said the railroad has 90 contractors working to repair the depot. The company is sealing cracks in concrete containment basins with an industrial resin and covering the concrete surfaces with several layers of sealant, he said.
“We’re confident we will not experience a similar situation in the future,” he said.
Barry Rosenberg, director of the Kootenai Environmental Alliance, said BNSF’s track record at the new site is unacceptable.
“You can patch cracks, but that means the underlying foundation is still cracked,” he said. “If they are gluing this thing together, will it hold up under the weight of these locomotives and trains?”
Rand Wichman, Kootenai County planning director, said BNSF is pushing to be done with repairs before an April 1 hearing in District Court.
Kalbaugh said much work remains to be done before the hearing.
“A lot of different things have to be demonstrated to the state with regard to the integrity of the facility,” he said. “It’s all being reviewed.”