Rail is generally thought of as the most environmentally friendly way to move goods around the country (it uses much less diesel fuel per ton of cargo than trucks). But the large transfer facilities where cargo is moved from rail cars to other forms of transportation can be major sources of air pollution and contamination, unless they're built using the latest clean technologies.

And that's the problem that community and environmental groups have with a new facility planned in the fields surrounding Kansas City, the nation's second largest rail hub after Chicago.

A massive new Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) intermodal facility and warehouse complex proposed about 30 miles outside of town would significantly increase toxic air pollution unless green technologies are adopted, according to a lawsuit filed this week by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

More than 110 trains and tens of thousands of trucks, all powered by diesel fuel, would travel through the area each day if the project goes forward. Diesel emissions include known carcinogens. They also form smog and exacerbate cardiac and respiratory problems, increasing the risk of premature death, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  

Currently, BNSF is planning to build and operate the facility without significant pollution control measures, according to NRDC staff attorney Melissa Lin Perrella. The group's lawsuit alleges that the Army Corps of Engineers violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by issuing a water permit for the project without doing a full environmental impact statement.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas, demands that the project be halted pending a full environmental impact statement, which would include exploring alternative plans and requires a public comment period.

In January, local environmental and community groups and private citizens filed a similar lawsuit in the same court.

The proposed facility would cover 500 acres and handle up to 870,000 lifts per year (a "lift" is the number of times that a container is moved from one vehicle to another). That dwarfs BNSF's two existing Kansas City-area rail hubs.

The new project would be located in an area that is now farms and wetlands bordering small towns. Residents of the nearby town of Gardner objected heavily to the project, leading the neighboring town of Edgerton to annex the land so that it could go forward. 

The California Air Resources Board says that residents who live near intermodal facilities, including ones much smaller than the facility proposed in Kansas City, have an increased risk of developing cancer.

In its initial assessment of the Kansas proposal's likely effects (a much briefer document than a full environmental impact statement), the Army Corps of Engineers reported that the intermodal facility  would generate six tons of particulate matter, 120 tons of nitrogen oxide, 2.5 tons of sulfur oxide, and 16.5 tons of volatile organic compounds - all in its opening year.

"Based on studies of California railyards, the emissions projected for the Kansas intermodal appear to be seriously underestimated," said Andrea Hricko, a professor of preventative medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. "And if the emissions are underestimated, that means that the potential health effects are also underestimated." 

BNSF is counting on $50 million in stimulus funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation to start construction on the facility. The two lawsuits could influence whether the project is considered "shovel ready" and eligible for stimulus money. NRDC's Lin Perrella says the group isn't seeking to derail the project but wants to ensure that its full health and environmental impacts are studied and the best pollution control technologies are used.

Meanwhile, a proposed new BNSF intermodal facility on the outskirts of Chicago has also faced significant opposition because of concerns over air pollution, the expected impact on traffic and roads, and the types of jobs it would create, which tend to be temporary and offer low wages.

Like the Kansas City metropolitan area, Chicago is already out of compliance with federal air standards.

In California, emissions from ports and intermodal facilities have been greatly reduced thanks to widespread use of electric and hybrid vehicles, cleaner-burning diesel fuel, the reduction of truck and locomotive idling, and other technologies, according to the California Air Resources Board.

These innovations were implemented thanks to strict state mandates and cooperation between environmental and community groups, state officials and corporations -- including BNSF. (The Impact Project tracks the health impacts of rail hubs and ports in California and nationwide).

Although strict state air quality standards drove the technology's adoption in California, Lin Perrella said neighbors of railyards in other states also deserve to have their health protected.

"We know these measures and technologies are out there, the Army Corps itself has evaluated them in California," she said. "It's really a shame the federal government is looking at these technologies in California but not everywhere else."

Photo: A BNSF train passes under the Freight House Bridge at the Kansas City Union Station. Doug Wertman/CC BY 2.0