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Cleanup on Whitefish River Ready to Begin

By Beacon Staff

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says efforts to remove contaminated sediment from the Whitefish River will begin this week.

The sediment in parts of the river is contaminated with petroleum products, including bunker fuel oil and weathered diesel fuel, causing a visible oily sheen on the water when it is disturbed.

EPA officials have said the contamination appears to originate from the BNSF Railway fueling facility upstream from Whitefish, and the contaminated sediment patches are along about two miles of the river.

Whitefish residents don’t use the river as a source of drinking water, but it is used for recreational activities.