Spokane Riverkeeper and the Natural Resources Defense Council filed suit against BNSF this week in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Washington in Spokane for violations of the Clean Water Act in the eastern region of the state.

The original Clean Water Act suit was filed in Washington’s Western District on June 5 by the Sierra Club along with the Puget Soundkeeper, Columbia Riverkeeper, RE Sources for Sustainable Communities and Friends of the Columbia Gorge for the western region.

“We have found coal in the Spokane River and its tributary Hangman Creek … [t]hat is toxic pollution in our waterways, and that is a major concern to Spokane Riverkeeper and all of those who have a right to a swimmable and fishable Spokane River,” Spokane Riverkeeper director Bart Mihailovich said.

NRDC attorney Morgan Wyenn said the found coal ranged from a fine dust to large chunks that fell from open Burlington Northern Santa Fe coal cars daily.

“BNSF must be held accountable for this preventable pollution,” officials said.

The railroad said in earlier testimony before the Surface Transportation Board that each of its rail cars lost an average 500-3500 pounds of coal dust.

The groups equated that to 60,000-420,000lbs of coal lost per train per trip based on a 120-car train.

They also oppose plans for coal export terminals on the grounds that a significant increase in rail traffic and longer trains were expected.

“If ports are developed, Spokane would be the choke point for all of the predicted 42 trains heading to and from the three proposed coal export facilities in Washington and Oregon each day,” the groups said.

“Spokane Riverkeeper believes that finding toxic coal in local waterways along rail communities in the state of Washington demonstrates clearly that environmental impacts from exporting coal exist beyond just the proposed exporting sites. The Clean Water Act is in place exactly for issues like this, and it’s up to us to hold those accountable who infringe upon our collective right to clean water in this country.”

Should the plants in Washington and Oregon come to fruition, much of the coal shipped from its berths will originate in the Powder River Basin region of Wyoming and Montana.

The opponents said, however, that PRB coal easily broke apart and contained dangerous toxins, and coal on tracks contributes to track destabilization and dangerous train derailments.

The plaintiffs are being represented by the Law Offices of Charles Tebbutt, PC, Andrea Rodgers Harris of Seattle, Jessica Yarnall Loarie of the Sierra Club Law Program and David Pettit and Morgan Wyenn of the Natural Resources Defense Council.