Train Derails, Spills 2,500 Gallons of Diesel on Swinomish Reservation

A BNSF Railway train derailed early Thursday morning on the Swinomish Reservation near Anacortes, Wash., spilling about 2,500 gallons of diesel, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology.

Department of Ecology spokesperson Scarlet Tang told Native News Online the train derailed on a berm near the Padilla Bay, but most of the subsequent spillage occurred on the "land side," away from nearby water sources. Pollution prevention teams quickly put up booms to prevent further pollution.

Subsequent study of the area produced no immediate apparent impact on the wildlife or water near the derailment site, Tang said. Diesel pooled on top of the soil has since been collected and a BNSF team is on the way to pull up rails near the crash, treat the soil below them, and then replace the rails "over the next 36 hours," Tang said.

https://nativenewsonline.net/environment/train-derails-on-swinomish-reservation