BNSF Railway pays $1.5 million fine for crude oil spill in northwest Iowa train derailment

Donnelle Eller, Des Moines Register
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BNSF Railway has agreed to pay a $1.5 million fine to resolve alleged clean water violations in connection with a derailment three years ago in northwest Iowa that dumped 117,500 gallons of crude oil into rivers and creeks.

The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday that the Texas-based railroad agreed to pay the fine to settle allegations it violated the federal Clean Water Act in the 2018 crash involving a train pulling 32 tanker cars near Doon in Lyon County.

The derailment, which forced the evacuation of some residents, came during a flood, and some local officials speculated the water had eroded soil beneath the tracks.

Crews work to clean up cars from the BNSF railway after a 31-car derailment dumped crude oil into the Little Rock River on Friday, June 22, 2018, in Doon.
Crews work to clean up cars from the BNSF railway after a 31-car derailment dumped crude oil into the Little Rock River on Friday, June 22, 2018, in Doon.

The EPA said the derailment resulted in heavy crude oil discharging into the Rock River, Little Rock River and Burr Oak Creek.

Within hours of the accident, BNSF, owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, brought in dozens of semitrailers loaded with equipment to clean up the spill, including containment booms, skimmers and vacuum trucks, the Associated Press reported at the time.

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The derailment caused concern downstream as far south as Buffett's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, about 150 miles from the derailment site. The Rock River joins the Big Sioux River before merging into the Missouri River, the source of Omaha's drinking water.

In Iowa, officials closed drinking water wells near the crash site. Some crops were destroyed in the spill and at least three animals died, the EPA said.

“Illegal discharges of oil into streams, rivers and wetlands present a significant threat to human health and the environment,” EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister said in a statement.

BNSF operates one of the largest railroad networks in North America.

Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com or 515-284-8457.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: EPA says BNSF will pay millions to resolve oil spill in northwest Iowa