Miles long diesel fuel spill being investigated near Glacier

State officials are investigating a fuel leak on a BNSF Railway train that occurred while it was running between Havre and West Glacier, taking it through Glacier National Park.

The railway reported to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality that the leak, which sprung from one of the train’s tanks, let out about 1,300 gallons of diesel fuel before it was identified. State officials could not immediately say when the leak was thought to have occurred. 

The state agency has dispatched an inspector to assess potential impacts and decide whether to launch a cleanup operation. Rebecca Harbage, department public policy director, said officials expected to have a better idea of the scope of the response needed by the end of the day Monday. 

“It wasn’t a sudden massive spill, and not directly in the river,” Harbage said. “But those tracks are river-adjacent.”

Everbridge, a mass communication alert system utilized by National Park Service, first advised park rangers of the leak at 1:36 p.m., Dec. 18. A second message warned park staff to keep on the lookout for signs of spilled diesel in the John Stevens Canyon.

Officials with Glacier National Park did not immediately respond to press inquiries.