Train fueling depot artless and off track

Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railway officials promised us that their train refueling facility above the aquifer that contains our drinking water would be “state-of-the-art.” I never expected it really would be.

As a civil engineer I’m well aware that most construction is a compromise between safety and cost, and that a for-profit company would be very interested in cost control. But as a water consumer concerned for the very sensitive and important aquifer, I hoped they really might be serious.

Let’s examine how their performance measures up to the promised “state-of-the-art” construction.

State-of-the-art construction procedures would never damage an important drainpipe, but one was damaged. State-of-the-art inspections would have found the damage, would have tested all important drains for leakage before beginning operation, and would have tested the integrity of the safety barriers before startup. None of this happened. That’s four failures.

State-of-the-art design would not have the PVC wastewater pipe to be connected in such a faulty manner and allowed it to penetrate the containment system at least 39 times, nor would they secure these penetrations with boots that are known to be subject to leakage, but BNSF did, and it became a second cause of pollution.

State-of-the-art design and construction would have used slab reinforcement and vibration barriers to prevent cracking of essential concrete slabs, but the slabs cracked and caused a third wave of pollution. If this slab-protective design were found to be too expensive, the high-speed through trains not needing refueling could have been routed around the facility, reducing the vibration. But cost control was obviously the controlling factor, not state-of-the-art protection of our water.

With real understanding of the importance of the aquifer and of the risks of construction, BNSF would have selected a site either well to the east or well to the west of the existing site. But the east is rough country costly for construction, and the plateau past Spokane is also beyond the Spokane rail junction and would have required laying a few miles of additional track to serve both branches. The site over the aquifer was a less costly place to build and better for profits than the east or west alternatives.

BNSF has not demonstrated the ability or willingness to build the elusive state-of-the-art, either here or at their other fueling facilities, all profuse leakers. Even if they miraculously did, accidents will happen.

We shouldn’t have to drink petroleum cocktails to protect BNSF profits. They have demonstrated again and again their inability and unwillingness to protect our water and have violated their contract with the Kootenai County commissioners and the people. It’s time to tell Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railway to get off the aquifer — go east or west for your refueling, but go!