Jules Gindraux, a longtime aquifer advocate, had a wonderful letter to the Coeur d’Alene Press recently regarding the BNSF refueling depot. The BNSF facility goes before a Kootenai County hearing examiner this evening for renewal of their conditional permit for operations.

Jules points out the sad inevitability of the disaster waiting to happen as the BNSF facility refuels dozens of trains with thousands of gallons of fuel directly above the sole source of drinking water for more than a half million people. It is not really a matter of whether such a facility will fail, it is only a matter of when. As Jules puts it, “Every day that passes brings us closer to the ‘mean-time-to-failure.’” Of course, this facility has already failed once.

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