One can expect that a fine of $86,000 is not very scary for BNSF. BNSF stands for Burlington Northern Sante Fe, LLC (emphasis on Limited Liability Corporation). Read about their billions at http://www.bnsf.com and their "About" pdf "at a glance" HERE). Since 2010, they are a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.
Please see:Department of Ecology News Release - August 11, 2015
BNSF fined $86,000 for water quality violations in Whatcom and Skagit counties
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/news/2015/110.html
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| Example of creosote-stained railway ties & other debris dumped source: EcologyWA on Flickr |
Here from the Washington State Department of Ecology website on Flickr is a link to the album containing photographs from the four projects cited in 2015 for violations having occurred August 2013-February 2015:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ecologywa/sets/72157656664737190
Maintenance is an ongoing activity for BNSF. Since the railway is so large, oversight is slight, and potential fines can be anticipated to be miniscule, one can expect there have been similar violations going on since the four projects cited by the Department of Ecology in their 8/11/15 news release.
To see the type of monstrous oil trains that passes through ideal coastline estuary areas many times every day of the week, watch Washington State Department of Ecology's 2-minute YouTube from 2013:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuTg8pU31KI
One of the places rail workers' chat can be heard is via the scanners stream on TuneIn radio at:
http://www.railroadradio.net/content/view/22/130/
It seems they sometimes forget that their conversations may be heard on the Internet.
BNSF is huge and operates all over USA and Canada. As mentioned above, see their "About" pdf "at a glance" HERE. If railroad operations are scary for humans and critters in and around Whatcom and Skagit counties, they are scary in lots of places.
Related:
Above Ecology News Release is cited in local news media:
BNSF fined $86,000 for water quality violations in Whatcom and Skagit counties
http://www.skagitbreaking.com/featured-story/bnsf-fined-86000-for-water-quality-violations-in-whatcom-and-skagit-counties/
State fines BNSF railway for water contamination
http://kgmi.com/news/007700-state-finds-bnsf-railway-for-contaminating-water/
