State investigates fuel leak on BNSF train that passed through Glacier National Park
<p><strong>At Marias Pass</strong> on the edge of Glacier National Park, a BNSF Railway freight train loaded with full oil tankers heads down the tracks as it passes another train with empty tanker cars heading back to North Dakota. </p>
Updated 5:01 p.m.
State officials are investigating a fuel leak on a BNSF Railway train that occurred while it was running between Havre and West Glacier, taking it through Glacier National Park.
The railway reported to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality that the leak let out about 1,300 gallons of diesel fuel before it was identified. State officials could not immediately say when the leak was thought to have occurred.
The state agency has dispatched an inspector to assess potential impacts and decide whether to launch a cleanup operation. Rebecca Harbage, department public policy director, said officials expected to have a better idea of the scope of the response needed by the end of the day Monday.
“It wasn’t a sudden massive spill, and not directly in the river,” Harbage said. “But those tracks are river-adjacent.”
Everbridge, a mass communication alert system utilized by National Park Service, first advised park rangers of the event at 1:36 p.m., Dec. 18. A second message warned park staff to keep on the lookout for signs of spilled diesel in John Stevens Canyon.
Officials with Glacier National Park stated they had limited information about the leak, saying that “this is not a park incident” and directing press inquiries to BNSF Railways.
BNSF officials said in a statement that an investigation is underway, and that any affected soils will be addressed in consultation with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. The diesel fuel leak, believed to have come from a locomotive that had traveled from Havre to Belton, was discovered by railway personnel on Dec. 18, according to BNSF.
Reporter Carl Foster can be reached at 758-4407 or cfoster@dailyinterlake.com.