SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Landowners at the site of a 2018 derailment near Doon, Iowa, are suing BNSF Railway, seeking damages for cleanup costs and reduced property values from oil spilled in the incident.
The Sioux City Journal reports Philip, Kirsti, John, and Helen Kooima of Rock Valley, Iowa, have sued BNSF for negligence over the June 22, 2018, incident, claiming the railroad was aware of flooding after 5 to 7 inches of rain fell, but failed to inspect, maintain, and repair its track in the area. As a result, 33 tank cars derailed, with 10 spilling approximately 160,000 gallons of oil.
The Kooimas, who own approximately 464 acres at the derailment site, say their property has suffered “severe, permanent, and disabling” damage, and they continue to spend money to counter the damage to farm land, trees and green space.
The lawsuit, originally filed in Lyon County District Court, was moved to U.S. District Court in Sioux City last week.
Without admitting fault, BNSF paid a $1.5 million settlement to the Environmental Protection Agency over water violations resulting from the spilled oil in 2021 [see “BNSF to pay $1.5 million …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 17, 2021].
Pay the government, ignore the landowners, that is how BNSF does it…