Maine environmental officials blamed a train derailment in April 2023 on a beaver dam that caused a washout, resulting in three people being hospitalized and the spillage of hundreds of gallons of fuel. Three engines and six train cars caught fire after being knocked off the tracks in rural Somerset County. The derailment sent approximately 500 gallons of diesel fuel into local waterways and Little Brassua Lake, with the spill saturating the surrounding soil and extending past containment measures. The railway company failed to empty the saddle tanks on the locomotive during clean-up, exacerbating the spill. Restoration of the derailment area was completed, and the state’s enforcement case against the railway company was closed in December.
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