A federal appeals court declined a BNSF Railway Co. request to block a lawsuit filed by 152 Livingston residents who want the company to pay for the cleanup of toxic chemicals from a contaminated rail yard. The city and residents said in the lawsuit that huge quantities of diesel fuel and solvents have seeped into the soil, surface water and groundwater. BNSF had asked a federal judge to block the 2007 lawsuit filed in state district court, arguing the injunction was necessary to keep jurisdiction in federal court, where the Montana Department of Environmental Quality sued BNSF in 1988/Matt Volz, Associated Press. More here.

Question: What? Are you surprised that BNSF is fighting the attempt by citizens to force the railroad to clean up the mess it has made in Livingston, Mont.?