While the eyes of the nation have been focused on the Gulf oil spill, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge now has to contend with its own oil spill and environmental disaster.

A Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad train derailed about an hour after sunrise Tuesday morning (July 27) at the southern end of the refuge, when a trestle collapsed. Although no injuries were reported, some environmental damage inevitably occurred.

New Mexico State Police Sgt. Jason Green said 19 cars went off track, including two carrying petroleum product that spilled into an arroyo and flowed east toward the refuge's wetlands.

"We haven't confirmed the number of cars, but there were a couple of 10,000-gallon petroleum oil tankers," he said.

Green said one tanker was carrying some type of thick petroleum oil and another contained what was believed to be diesel fuel. The product flowed down the arroyo and crossed Highway 1, approximately 200 yards away.

Green said some of the tankers may not have been full, but "a substantial amount of oil crossed the road" and more was absorbed by the soil.

"We'll have to work with federal authorities to remove contaminants from the soil," he said.

While workers from the railroad, its contractors and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service worked to stop the flow from reaching the wetlands and a nearby well, about a half-mile section of Highway 1 at Mile Marker 41 was closed to traffic.

Green said the railroad was responsible for maintaining the trestles, which are made of wood.

Tom Melanson, the refuge manager, said that it's hard to determine the extent of the environmental damage at this early stage.

"It's going to have some type of impact," he said about 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday. "We're going to have to analyze the situation. Right now, it's too early to tell."

Melanson said some the petroleum flow got within 50 yards of a well. A loader and bulldozer provided by the refuge was used to dam and dike the arroyo to contain the spill, he said.

Inevitably, some of the product seeped into the ground.

"Some of the soil will have to be removed," he said.

Melanson said he was worried about the potential for the oil and gas getting into the groundwater.

"My biggest concern is that a plume (of petroleum) gets under the wetlands and eventually gets into it — that would be the worst-case scenario," he said. "If we can excavate it out before it migrates, that would be good for us."

The refuge manager said the accident occurred about 6:15 a.m., and the train was apparently traveling northbound. Although he didn't know the number of cars the train contained, he said it's not unusual for trains 100 cars in length to pass through the refuge.

In the meantime, the southern tour loop on the refuge was closed to the public and a portion of a foot trail that passed by the scene of the accident was closed.

Joe Faust, a spokesman for BNSF, said in a July 27 phone interview that the cause of the derailment had not been determined and was under investigation.

Faust said two people — an engineer and a conductor — were on the train and both were in the lead locomotive. While they made it safely over the trestle, two locomotives behind them didn't.

The tanker cars carried fuel oil, he said.

"Two tank cars were compromised," he said. "The spill has been contained and posed no threat to any nearby body of water or any fish and wildlife in the reserve."

Faust said the train contained 95 cars and was traveling about 48 or 49 mph at the time of the accident. The speed limit over that stretch of track is 55 mph, he said.

Faust couldn't immediately say how old the trestle was. He said the mainline track has been closed until the wreckage is removed and the track is deemed safe.

"We will handle the clean up so that we can begin operating," he said.

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