WHITEFISH — The bottom of Whitefish Lake is to be dredged next week to remove contamination from two tanker cars that derailed in 1989.
The Missoulian reports that Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway contractors will remove approximately 400 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated sediment with Environmental Protection Agency oversight.
The Whitefish Lake Institute reinvestigated the site of the freight train derailment in 2009 after a resident reported seeing an oily sheen along the shoreline.
Tests revealed petroleum hydrocarbons present. Institute executive director Mike Koopal says the spill penetrated much deeper into the soil than originally believed.
Between 20,000 and 25,000 gallons of diesel poured into the lake after two full diesel tankers slid down an embankment on an unpopulated section a mile and a half north of Whitefish State Park.