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Item: BNSF fuel depot faces review: Commissioners question facility’s reluctance to shut down for leaks/Alecia Warren, Coeur d’Alene Press
More Info: The track wasn’t totally clear for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Thursday night, when the company faced its 60-month compliance review for its refueling depot in Hauser. Although the Kootenai County commissioners lauded the railroad’s efforts to protect the Rathdrum-Prairie Aquifer underlying the facility, they still raised doubts of whether there could be more parameters to prevent problems down the road. “You’ve done an excellent job in maintaining processes at the facility. You stepped up during incidents and took care of it,” said Commissioner Rick Currie. “But citizens need to have every level of assurance that the facility is living up to the standards that were set.”
Question: Are you convinced that Burlington Northern Santa Fuel has all the safeguards in place at its refueling depot to protect the Rathdrum aquifer?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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Terry Harris on November 13 at 3:45 p.m.
Adapted from comments we submitted:
[KEA's] basic concern remains that the facility is located over the sole source of drinking water for over 500,000 people, the Spokane Valley - Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, and any toxins released from the facility will contaminate the aquifer. We believe that the Conditions of Approval for BNSF's facility have not been met, therefore, the permit should be revoked.
…
In sum, due to noncompliance of conditions set forth in the original permit, inconsistency of the use with the existing comprehensive plan, the fact evidence relied upon in the initial decision has proven to be false, and fundamentally, the ongoing risk to the Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, the permit should be revoked.
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otisgexperience on November 13 at 6:20 p.m.
I really think the whole “pipe leak” incident years ago was completely overblown, but I'm still shocked at how ignorant it was for a transcontinental railroad to put millions of gallons of fuel directly over the headwater of an entire regions drinking suppy. I mean c'mon, I'm sure they have abandoned little po-dunk areas all over their line that would have LOVED to get that thing. “But it provided jobs for locals!” Maybe a couple, but even then… a handful of jobs isn't worth the risk of regional contamination. We're still thanking the Silver Valley mines for that… and they didn't even know it was a danger.
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