BNSF plans rail yard cleanup in Whitefish

WHITEFISH (AP) — BNSF officials are drafting a plan to clean up contaminated soil at a rail yard in Whitefish.

The company plans to submit the remediation plan next month to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

Officials say the cleanup involves a patch of ground up to 75 feet in diameter that contains a trichloroethylene plume near the railroad’s roundhouse, visible from downtown Whitefish.

Jessica Gutting of the state Department of Environmental Quality says it’s unclear how deep the plume goes.

The roundhouse cleanup is part of a larger remediation plan for the rail yard that will likely take years to complete.

The cleanup in particular is targeting ground and groundwater contamination, and the company is preparing a human health risk assessment.