Stories related to BNSF depot/Spokane Valley aquifer

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Retirees call refueling depot risky

(10/12/2006) They have all the time in the world to fish, carve walking sticks or practice golf putts. Instead, 88-year-old Jules Gindraux and his 69-year-old cohort, Jim Rowe, have been spending their time taking on a railroad.

Depot suits pile higher

(2/2/2006) Lawsuits over North Idaho's leaky BNSF Railway depot continue to trickle into federal court. With $18 million at stake, the case now seems to involve more finger-pointing than a preschool playground dispute.

Refueling depot looks to future

(12/31/2005) Ten trillion gallons or four tablespoons. Depending on whom you ask, that's how much of the region's drinking water has been threatened by fuel leaks at BNSF Railway's refueling depot near Hauser, Idaho.

Depot blisters renew concern

(9/10/2005) Flaws have been discovered in a supposedly impermeable concrete coating at BNSF Railway's depot atop the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer. There is no evidence of any train fuel leaking through the "blisters" in the coating and into the aquifer 160 feet below the site, according to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.

Railroad sues firms that built, designed depot

(7/23/2005) BNSF Railway is demanding $18 million from the Spokane construction company and the Illinois-based engineering firm hired by the railroad to build a high-speed refueling depot atop the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer.

Depot should be held accountable

(6/8/2005) BNSF Railway and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality are satisfied with the $10 million overhaul of the railroad's "state of the art" refueling depot near Hauser.

Railroad to explain depot fixes

(6/6/2005) BNSF Railway Co. and Idaho state officials plan to demonstrate to Kootenai County commissioners this month why the refueling depot on Rathdrum Prairie is fixed and capable of servicing 30 trains a day.

Charm wins the depot a second try

(5/14/2005) Three executives with BNSF Railway Co. came calling here Thursday. The railroad's Hauser refueling depot is open again. It sits above the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer.

County leaders want meeting with BNSF

(5/13/2005) Kootenai County leaders are demanding a meeting with railroad and state leaders to discuss changes made at BNSF Railway Co. 's refueling depot on the Rathdrum Prairie.

BNSF cleared to reopen fuel depot

(5/10/2005) HAUSER, Idaho – After more than two months of repairs at its fuel depot near here, BNSF Railway Co. was cleared by a state judge on Monday to resume locomotive refueling at any time.

Bidding adieu to our dear, late Aquifer

(5/4/2005) Eulogy for the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer: May 4, 2008. Welcome to all gathered here on the banks of the Spokane River near the T.

Idaho urges more tests on BNSF refueling depot

(5/3/2005) For railroads, speed equals profit. Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co. says a Coeur d'Alene judge's decision that has kept its Idaho refueling depot closed for the past two months has cost nearly $19 million in lost shipments and repair costs.

Let us sing a song of oil leaks and trains

(5/1/2005) Apart from the protest marches, petition drives and letter-writing campaigns, opponents of BNSF Railway's Hauser fuel depot have injected a bit of creativity into their struggle.

BNSF says depot leaks fixed

(4/29/2005) Although several small leaks remain at BNSF Railway's fuel depot near Hauser, Idaho, major improvements have been made and the facility is ready to resume operations, according to testimony Thursday by railroad executives and experts hired by BNSF.

Railroad to argue for depot's reopening

(4/28/2005) After a flurry of last-minute repairs and testing at its refueling depot north of Post Falls, BNSF Railway Co. is expected to return to a Coeur d'Alene courtroom this morning seeking permission to reopen the leak-plagued facility.

A cautionary tale

(4/25/2005) LIVINGSTON, Mont. – The old railroad workers here have heard about the leaks found recently at BNSF Railway's fueling station near Spokane. The company pulled out of Livingston nearly 20 years ago, but a polluted legacy remains and so does the bitterness.
See Sunday's Part 1 of this story.

Railroad's public obligations neglected, former worker says

(4/24/2005) LIVINGSTON, Mont. – As a boy, all Warren McGee wanted to do was photograph the steam locomotives chugging through his hometown of Livingston and eventually follow in his father's path of working for the railroad.

Legacy of contamination

(4/24/2005) The fuel leaks found recently at BNSF Railway's refueling depot north of Post Falls have gotten under John Hiatt's skin. The Spokane tavern owner doesn't consider himself an environ- mentalist, but he knows a thing or two about the company.

Hearing delayed to allow time for tests

(4/7/2005) The BNSF Railway refueling depot will likely stay closed for at least three more weeks. A court hearing to determine the future operations of the depot was scheduled for Friday, but the railroad asked for an extension until April 28 to allow for more definitive tests, said BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas.

Public voices frustration over depot

(4/7/2005) Organizers of a public meeting focused on BNSF Railway's recent contamination of the Rathdrum Prairie/Spokane Valley Aquifer were pleased with the turnout of the Wednesday night forum in Coeur d'Alene.

Hearing delayed to allow time for tests

(4/7/2005) The BNSF Railway refueling depot will likely stay closed for at least another three weeks. A court hearing to determine the future operations of the depot was scheduled for Friday, but the railroad asked for an extension until April 28 to allow for more definitive tests, said BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas.

Depot gets more time for repairs

(4/2/2005) The rainy weather has slowed reconstruction work at BNSF Railway's refueling depot near Rathdrum, Idaho. Idaho 1st District Judge Charles Hosack granted the railroad an additional three days to complete the work before a court hearing to decide the operating fate of the depot.

Depot gets fix; cracks in credibility remain

(3/22/2005) Fresh concrete is hardening, new sealants are drying and the steel rails soon will be ready to once again guide transcontinental locomotives to a fuel stop at Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway's depot near Hauser, Idaho.
» See a slideshow of photos from the depot

Depot flaws uncovered

(3/19/2005) Photos released Friday by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality provide the first public glimpse of the problems and repair efforts under way at BNSF Railway's refueling depot near Hauser, Idaho.

New test, new taint

(3/9/2005) Traces of petroleum have been found in the groundwater directly below BNSF Railway's cracked refueling platform at its depot near Rathdrum, Idaho, according to a statement issued Tuesday afternoon by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.